Paramount Equity Mortgage employees volunteered June 19, 2008, to complete a two-day repainting project at the
Winter Shelter at Cal Expo. Volunteers included (from left):
Courtney Thomas, Jeff Marks, Cindy Breedlove, Jason
Hensley, J.D. Nordberg, Kelly Kashoba, Darlene Hall,
David Baird, Michele Magee.

Paramount Equity Mortgage, a longtime supporter of Volunteers of America’s mission to reach out and uplift all people, reiterated its commitment when staff members picked up brushes and rollers June 19, 2008, for an afternoon of painting at the Winter Shelter at Cal Expo.

Cindy Breedlove, Paramount's Director of Procurement, led the eight-member team in repainting the men’s and women’s sleeping areas.

Team members were: Breedlove, Michele Magee, Kelly Kashoba, J.D. Nordberg, Darlene Hall, Jeff Marks, Courtney Thomas, Jason Hensley and David Baird.

Paramount Equity Mortgage employees had previously visited the Winter Shelter in 2007 as part of the volunteer force taking part in the Operation Backpack packing and sorting party.

For information on how you can volunteer on behalf of Volunteers of America, please see our “Volunteering” page, or contact Volunteers of America Community Relations Manager Kim Castaneda at (916) 442-3691 or KimC@voa-sac.org.

     

   

 

 

Eighteen employees of Sacramento-area Starbucks stores,
as well as six Volunteers of America clients, took brushes
and rollers to the walls of the Winter Shelter June 18, 2008,
for an off-season spruce-up. Starbucks staff included Tina Black, Erin O’Neill, Jen Cuniglio, Dena Williamson, Amy Caskey, Chelsea Betti, Carmela Maldonack, Jenn Mountjn, Melissa Usher, Brandi Sanders, Nate Sengmany, Fahimeh Sarang, Susan Than, Rhonda Vega and Rob Daehn.

Sacramento-area Starbucks stores and their employees have supported Volunteers of America for more than six years.

Employee volunteers have pitched in to paint and decorate transitional housing and emergency shelter facilities, adopted families at Christmas, helped renovate housing facilities for Hurricane Katrina survivors, and collected hats, scarves, gloves and socks for the Gift of Warmth drive, as well as backpacks and school supplies for Operation Backpack.

On June 18, 2008, 18 Starbucks staff members, led by district manager Tina Black, traded biscotti for brushes and went to work on phase one of the Winter Shelter interior repainting project.

Assisted by five Volunteers of America program clients, the group gave the shelter a fresh look just in time for an upcoming series of Operation Backpack staging events, which will be held at the shelter during its seasonal closure.

“It’s part of our culture to be involved with the community that surrounds us,” said Black. “We love what we do and want to share it with others.”

Participating Starbucks employees included Black, Erin O’Neill, Jen Cuniglio, Dena Williamson, Amy Caskey, Chelsea Betti, Carmela Maldonack, Jenn Mountjn, Melissa Usher, Brandi Sanders, Nate Sengmany, Fahimeh Sarang, Susan Than, Rhonda Vega and Rob Daehn.

Sacramento-area Starbucks will again host Operation Backpack collection boxes this summer, with 39 stores participating in the July 11 to 25 campaign (see the list of Operation Backpack drop-off locations). “Being able to support children and families in need that reside in our local communities, and the ability to make a lasting difference in the lives of these children is something we aspire to do as we participate in activities such as Operation Backpack,” said Black.

For information on how you can volunteer on behalf of Volunteers of America, please see our “Volunteering” page, or contact Volunteers of America Community Relations Manager Kim Castaneda at (916) 442-3691 or KimC@voa-sac.org.

   

   

   

 

Volunteer-assisted meal services were new to the Winter Shelter program for 2007-08. Many
volunteers became regular fixtures at the facility, helping out once or more every week. Several
clients and volunteers were on a friendly
first-name basis by the time the shelter closed.

The Winter Shelter at Cal Expo, the Volunteers of America emergency overflow facility operated in partnership with Sacramento County, assisted more than 1,500 clients during its 2007-08 season, which ended April 1.

With the majority of these homeless individuals returning frequently, the shelter saw a 90 percent or higher utilization rate each month since its Nov. 9, 2007, opening. The cumulative total of first-time and repeat users was more than 19,500.

For the homeless men, women and children who came to rely on the hot meals, warm beds and welcoming smiles provided daily during the past five months, the shelter was a lifesaver.

“Having lived in Sacramento for 44 years, I never thought that I would need the services of Volunteers of America and the shelter program,” said Mark, a local man who unexpectedly found himself homeless this year. “I am very grateful for Volunteers of America and the entire staff.”

When asked what they might have done without the 154-bed facility, many clients had no guess, others supposed they would have resorted to camping out in tents, or sleeping in cars and abandoned houses.

“To have come here to a warm, comfortable and happy environment, where smiling, caring people take their time to help me, has really meant the whole world,” said a client, who preferred to remain anonymous. “God bless all of you!”

Volunteers regularly serving dinner to the clients was a new activity this season, and one wholeheartedly embraced by the Sacramento-area community. More than 100 individuals, as well as several church, school and business groups, including Standard Pacific Homes, F&M Bank, the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Wilton Christian School and Macy’s Downtown Plaza, became frequent visitors.

“That was a good thing,” said Winter Shelter Program Director Angelo Gama of the increase in volunteerism at the Winter Shelter. “The clients loved it when they could sit down and have dinner served to them.”

The Church Volunteer Network also was instrumental in recruiting members of Skyline Christian Center and the Bayside network of churches to provide special live music-and-dessert programs on Saturdays.

Chad Fallis, a familiar face at the Winter Shelter, was one of those clients who was happy to see the volunteers in their royal blue-and-white aprons.

“Thank you to all the volunteers that have designated their time and compassion to this program,” wrote Fallis in a note to Volunteers of America staff. “They help to ease a lot of people’s pain and heartaches during this hard time. With everyone’s help, the Winter (Shelter) overflow by Volunteers of America has helped some willing members of society to turn their lives around. Volunteers of America has done a beautiful job. Thank you!”

Winter Shelter staff, headed by onsite lead monitors Al Hill and E’laina West, worked hard in the weeks leading up to the seasonal closure to provide clients with housing referrals.

West said that while some clients will be going to other shelters, including Volunteers of America’s Bannon Street and A Street shelters, others have found affordable permanent housing through such subsidized programs as Quinn Cottages.

One challenge to securing permanent housing for Winter Shelter clients, said West, is the number of those who come to the facility with impaired decision-making abilities due to mental health issues.

“We’ve made a huge effort to get them housing so they won’t end up back on the street,” said West, “but I always worry about them.”

Read what clients said about their Winter Shelter experience

Read what volunteers shared about working at the Winter Shelter and other Volunteers of America programs