#MondayMorningMercy is our series highlighting some of the best stories that truly explain the meaning of Feed. Clothe. House. Heal. This week we tell Frank's story, from fulfilling community service to discovering a fulfilling career in serving families in need.
Nearly three years ago, Frank Guajardo faced this decision in Maricopa County Court – either pay $560 in traffic fines or serve 260 hours in community service. He took the latter option. He thought that he’d get the 260 hours over with at St. Vincent de Paul and move on with his life. More than 20,000 hours later, Frank is still here.
“I had never volunteered before,” Frank said. “I enjoyed it so much, I decided to keep volunteering even after I completed my service hours. I just loved to be here.”
Today, Frank is full time on the kitchen staff. But he still remembers his first day as a volunteer. He chose St. Vincent de Paul because he thought that it would be easy to fulfill his hours. He thought that volunteers were plentiful and that his presence would not make a difference.
Since Frank was working at the state capitol’s cafeteria kitchen, he was comfortable in a commercial kitchen. He was placed on the morning food preparation crew.
“I felt like I was part of the team right away,” he said. “Everyone was so nice and appreciative of my being there.”
The real transformation took place two weeks later, when a group of volunteers canceled without much notice, leaving the kitchen staff with just three volunteers. With 3,500 meals to prepare every day, the kitchen typically requires 15 volunteers in the morning. The kitchen staff and volunteers concentrated their efforts and completed the meals that day, but Frank realized just how important volunteers are to the daily operation of St. Vincent de Paul.
“Thousands of people need us,” he said. “If we don’t get the meals done, they don’t get to eat.”
New volunteers, especially those who are fulfilling a court obligation, are often surprised by their positive volunteer experiences, Volunteer Manager Laurie Bassett said.
“Once they see the needs out in the community and experience being part of the solution, they want to come back,” she said.
A third of them want to come back. Last year, of about 780 court-ordered volunteers, 280 of them stayed on as regular volunteers after their required hours were fulfilled.
Frank continued volunteering after completing his hours, but he decided to take it a step further. He volunteered regularly, but also came in on his days off and on holidays. He was at St. Vincent de Paul so much anyway, he thought, he might as well work there.
“I told the manager that I was willing to scrub floors or clean toilets. I’ll take any job that’s available,” he said. “It felt good to be here. It was fulfilling and I wanted to spend more time here.”
Six months later, a kitchen staff position became available. Frank applied immediately and was offered the job.
Now, Frank works with hundreds of volunteers every week. He particularly takes notice of new volunteers, fulfilling service hours or otherwise. He tries to make sure that they feel welcome and understand the significance of their work at St. Vincent de Paul.
“I thought that I was here to help people,” he said. “But I ended up getting the most in return. Now I hear volunteers tell me the same thing all the time.”
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Stories like this don’t happen without the support of people like you. You really do have the power to Feed. Clothe. House. Heal. our neighbors in need. Contribute to the cause by donating, volunteering, or learning more.
