Gov. Bill Walker, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, members of their offices, family and friends volunteered during the dinner shift at The Glory Hole soup kitchen and shelter on the last Friday of 2016.
The volunteers pooled donations, purchased groceries, roasted turkeys in advance and put in about 3 hours of prep, cooking and serving time at the shelter itself.
Rebecca Braun was one of the volunteers who works in the governor’s office. She shared this anecdote from the night via email:
“About an hour before dinner was served one woman asked me what’s for dinner. I told her turkey soup, mashed potatoes and salad. She was stony faced. Then I said, ‘And cookies from the governor,’ and her face broke into a huge smile. I said, ‘You’re the first person I’ve told that the governor is coming!’ She walked away grinning.
Mariya Lovishchuk, the shelter’s executive director, said their help was wonderful, and that it showed a connection between the most vulnerable citizens, the issues they face and the people who serve them.
You don’t have to be the governor to volunteer or help out. To pitch in for meals, Lovishchuk recommends getting a group together to make the meal or donating ingredients; call the shelter at 586-4159 for details. She also recommended making cash donations or Permanent Fund Dividend donations through Pick.Click.Give.
She said the Glory Hole provides 45,000 meals and 10,000 emergency shelter beds a year.