Volunteer Corner
Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Falmouth Service Center (FSC), and prior to the pandemic, more than 600 served in a variety of roles both at FSC and our Hand in hand Thrift Shop (Hnh). Quite simply, we could not open our doors each day in support of our mission “to ease stress, reduce hunger and improve the quality of life for our neighbors in need” without the exceptional service of our dedicated volunteers. So, in this issue of our newsletter, we share the story of just one such volunteer.
“To ease stress, reduce hunger and improve the quality of life for our neighbors in need”
You only need to spend a few minutes with Laurie Berlinguet to see and feel her devotion to both FSC and Hnh. She spends many hours each week in the Pantry providing clients with their dairy products through our new Client Choice Grocery plan or on the telephones fielding the many questions from clients about our services during COVID-19. When she’s not at FSC, you’ll find her at Hnh pricing clothing, helping with the merchandising of the Shop, and supporting the shoppers with their purchases in the retail area. During the height of the holiday season at FSC, she was busy helping to distribute Turkey Baskets to clients and toys, books and holiday gift cards to client families for their children.
Moving permanently to the Cape from Hingham several years ago, Laurie accepted a part-time position at a Falmouth medical office as medical assistant and orthopedic technician. She loved the work and her colleagues, but when her husband Paul, who also volunteers for FSC, retired and had more time for family and travel, Laurie wanted the flexibility of retirement as well. Dating back to her volunteer. service at the Hingham Food Pantry while she was raising their family, Laurie says that her heart has always been drawn to issues of food insecurity and serving those less fortunate than her family. FSC’s reputation in the Falmouth community piqued her interest and drew her in to learn more about FSC and our programs through our website and through articles in The Falmouth Enterprise. Starting out first at Hnh, she branched out to volunteer at FSC just prior to the start of the pandemic.
When asked what she would tell others about her volunteer experiences at FSC, she says it’s about the people: “The people we serve are so appreciative of the services offered to them and the volunteers are so giving in support of FSC’s mission.” According to Laurie, “kindness, compassion, dignity, respect and appreciation” are the qualities she experiences most often at FSC and Hnh. In our view, those are the very qualities she gives to those she serves. When you see Laurie next, we hope you will join us in thanking her for the great gift of her time and talent and the generosity of her spirit. Thank you so much, Laurie.