Volunteers Week!
How do we love you? Let me count the ways!
There really aren’t enough words and ways to thank our volunteers for the contribution they make to the community.
Larder>East wouldn’t survive a heartbeat without them and East Belfast is a far better place because of the faith, time and dedication volunteers put into really building a neighbourhood that takes care of each other and strives for better.
And it takes all types, from Karen and Michael coming down early each time to stock shelves and do the heavy lifting, to our amazing kitchen team tirelessly making scones, stews, pasta bakes and ulster fries to ensure people know they’re loved through the sharing of food. If you’re lonely and need to chat? pull up a chair at Mark’s table, he’ll be there faithfully and deftly displaying active listening better than any of us.
Behind the scenes, we’ve created a monster! A complex till system to ensure everyone can fairly shop here and our volunteers are not just adept at navigating that sometimes tricky system, they do it sensitively, patiently and with a friendly face. We are frequently stunned at how skilled and warm they are!
And our volunteers bring such a diverse set of skills. So you’re an astrophysicist? then you’re able to explain and understand the numbers behind scaled discounts, their benefits and their limitations.
You’re a published author, well you’ll be able to curate and display a beautiful space for a shared library that everyone can participate with.
A retired taxi driver? Then boy will you know how to chit-chat as you wash mountains of dishes on Thursday nights
We’ve legal minds that know how remind you of your rights and if you spent all your teens and twenties working in retail? Then serving shoppers on a busy morning is taken in your stride.
Spanish your first language? Then a handful of regular shoppers are always delighted to chat in their mother tongue, adding another layer of warmth and colour to the space.
Passionate about housing rights? – you’ll find those volunteers huddled around a table helping a member fight eviction or navigate a waiting list that might see them unhoused for years.
We’ve youth workers and seasoned SEN mums who can show you the way. We’ve coders and admins that can do hours of overwhelming work done in seconds.
We’ve educators and academic’s that are passionate about making sure pathways to higher education isn't gatekept.
We’ve greenfingered mystics that magically bring a sense of both calm and fun to the place. Grounding the work but also showing the big picture (how do you even do that?!)
There are countless other ways these amazing people could be using their time, but they choose to spend it here, not as an act of charity but as a meaningful way to really participate in community. To count themselves among us all. Building a village, restoring faith in humanity and doing it all with your own unique quirks,
