Finding Purpose in Helping Others

Finding Purpose in Helping Others

Miss B will tell you firsthand: she didn’t have much of a game plan going into retirement. Her only goal was to learn how to play the guitar.

But when a co-worker suggested she volunteer with Cincinnati COOKS!, a free culinary training program at Freestore Foodbank, she promised to check it out.

“I said, ‘I’ll tell you what. When I retire, I’ll go down and see what Cincinnati COOKS! is all about,’” Miss B says.

What was intended as a quick visit to fulfill a promise became so much more. Miss B arrived on the first day of a new class session and was immediately drawn to the program’s approach.

“I was impressed with the way they did stuff. How the chefs and everybody was expected to treat people who came there for help,” she says. “They were firm but kind. And I fit in.”

Miss B was so impressed, in fact, that she asked to complete the entire 10-week program herself … and graduated with Class 48! Cincinnati COOKS! is now on Class 215! For over a decade, she has remained a devoted volunteer, helping with administrative tasks, mentoring students, and being a steady presence.

She finds the most meaning in helping students who are looking for a fresh start: “There are those who have fallen on their luck or missed something along the way that they didn’t know how to get out of, and seeking help to start a new life in a new way,” she says. “The students that I have met along the years, they touch your heart.”

As for that guitar? “I haven’t even thought of the guitar. It sits in the corner saying, ‘Yoo-hoo, remember me?’”

You and Miss B are natural helpers! Thank you for helping us work toward a healthier, hunger-free future.