A Year of Growth, Compassion, and Community

As the Pantry Experience Coordinator at the Worthington Resource Pantry, Hannah Matthews’ project is to gather feedback, share real neighbor stories, and build outreach strategies, ensuring that everyone who walks through the Pantry’s doors feels seen and supported.

“I feel like I have definitely found a home at the Worthington Resource Pantry,” she says. “I have made meaningful connections with staff, volunteers, and our neighbors thus far. I believe the projects and programs I am working on will continue to be developed and used in future years, and that my work has informed the organization more about our neighbors’ thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.”

One project Hannah is particularly proud of is her coordination of a service event in honor of Martin Luther King Day. After pitching the idea to Pantry staff and introducing a funding opportunity through ServeOhio, Hannah worked to organize the day of the service project, recruit volunteers, and successfully host the event. As a result of Hannah’s efforts, volunteers rallied to assemble packs of feminine hygiene products, gaining new awareness of the challenges faced by women and girls lacking consistent access to them. Through this experience, Hannah found herself leveraging her organizational, volunteer management, and presentation skills.

“The event was very successful and resulted in more people having increased awareness about period poverty and an abundance of feminine hygiene products available to the Pantry’s neighbors,” she says.

As a result of these experiences in service, Hannah now has greater confidence in her professional ability to perform tasks and organize projects.

“I have learned something about myself, clients, and volunteers through each of these achievements, and I will take that knowledge with me to all future professional pursuits,” she says.

Despite these accomplishments, Hannah admits that she struggled to mentally separate herself from work in the beginning of her service. One challenge she faced was having to enforce Pantry policies, such as turning neighbors away during closed hours. Going home for the evening, she would find herself replaying these interactions and feeling down about them. However, Hannah has learned that these policies serve an important purpose of keeping food distributions fair for all community members, ensuring that all pantry visitors receive the same service access.

“I learned to find my voice and to be confident in the information/directions I give people,” says Hannah. “I learned that I can still be compassionate and helpful, even if I cannot solve their immediate need with the Pantry’s service.”

Hannah believes that serving those in poverty has made her more mindful in her work, prompting her to seek feedback from neighbors instead of assuming she already knows their needs. Looking back on service, she sees this year as transformative.

“Personally, I have gained a lot of perspective and been inspired by the people I work with and serve,” she says. “This year has been one of the most fun, rewarding experiences in my life thus far! Not only do you get the chance to work with mission-driven people every day, but you also get the chance to be creative and grow as a community member and professional. National service opened my eyes to new career opportunities and gave me the chance to find myself in the non-profit space.”

Thanks for your service, Hannah!