‘All hands on deck’ – Volunteers pack lunches for Safer Foundation

A small army of volunteers bagged up more than 2,000 sack lunches on Wednesday, April 17, to help the Safer Foundation Quad Cities’ annual Safer Sacks fundraiser, the nonprofit’s largest fundraiser. For 19 years, Safer Foundation staff, board members, individuals served, public partners, employers and volunteers have come together to assemble, promote, and sell sack […]

A small army of volunteers bagged up more than 2,000 sack lunches on Wednesday, April 17, to help the Safer Foundation Quad Cities’ annual Safer Sacks fundraiser, the nonprofit’s largest fundraiser. For 19 years, Safer Foundation staff, board members, individuals served, public partners, employers and volunteers have come together to assemble, promote, and sell sack lunches throughout the Quad Cities. 

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“I believe in our youth. … They need to have structure and support for them,” said Colleen Willman, a Safer Foundation staffer for more than 20 years, and one of those helping out Wednesday morning at the agency’s office at the JB Young Opportunity Center, 1702 N. Main St., Davenport. Proceeds from the Safer Sacks event support the organization’s efforts to provide a safe place for individuals with arrest and conviction records to foster their untapped potential while also removing barriers to employment, education and other life necessities. Money raised also helps young people taking part in Safer Foundation educational programs. (They include Employment Services Program, Pathway Home, Youth Empower Program and I-MATTER.) Safer is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit providers of services designed exclusively for people with criminal records. It works to improve the socioeconomic well-being of the individual, their family, and community.  Each Safer Sack sold helps Safer participants get one step further on their road to a better future. The agency also offers educational and vocational programs for young people. The lunches, which were pre-sold to Safer supporters, consisted of a ham/turkey/cheese croissantwich, chips, cookies and fruit.  This year’s goal was to sell 2,100 lunches, which were to be delivered over the lunch hour today (Thursday, April 18) at many sites and businesses around the Quad Cities, said Brian Monroe, assistant director of the Safer Foundation. But on Wednesday morning, the biggest job was getting most of the lunch items placed in the bags. The “dry items” – such as chips and cookies – were placed in paper bags by more than 30 volunteers in the gym of the JB Young Opportunity Center, a former Davenport school. Food and other items needed for the lunch sacks were donated by area businesses. Hy-Vee provided the meat and cheese for sandwiches. The cookies were donated by Quad City Bank & Trust, and Fareway also donated items. “But right now, it’s all hands on deck to get this done,” Mr. Monroe said as he pointed out the many volunteers working at tables and filling bags with various lunch items. After the bags were filled, other volunteers labeled them for pickup or delivery. For instance, by late morning Wednesday, volunteers had made 90 lunches purchased by Dahl Ford in Davenport. Among the volunteers preparing lunches was Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms, who said it was important for him to volunteer to show his support for the Safer Foundation and its work. “They do such a great job of getting people back into the community. … These individuals (helped by Safer) deserve a second chance,” Mr. Thoms added. In addition to community leaders, many of the people packing up lunches were volunteers from area churches and area residents who heard Safer needed a hand. Also, some of the lunch work crew were Safer Foundation employees and people being served by its programs – especially young people. As she bagged up lunches, Sailor Anderson, who works with young people at Safer, said she was especially happy to see many young people from programs helping with the work. “This teaches our students about service. So, it’s important for them to be here today,” she added. Those students and many others were kept busy with the assembly line-like work on Wednesday. The volunteers worked at a series of tables putting different food items into white paper bags.  During the work, Ms. Willman provided some helpful advice: “Please make sure there is one of everything in the bag.” A few minutes later, she looked over the lunches and praised the volunteers: “Thank you, guys. They are looking good. I appreciate it.”