Kent ISD — When the team at Empower U Central received an invitation to Mel Trotter Ministries’ annual volunteer appreciation luncheon, the group thought it would be to help serve at the event, not to serve as the guests of honor.
But during the April “Loving Our Neighbors” program that celebrates the organization’s volunteers, the Empower U Central team received the Volunteer Partner of the Year Award.
“I thought it was surreal that we got the award,” said Alana Cox, an Empower U Central student who has been working at Mel Trotter.
Kim Snider, Mel Trotter community engagement manager, said students from Empower U Central began the partnership in September. Groups from the program volunteered four days a week for an hour a day, assisting with a range of kitchen tasks, including cleaning the dining room, counting juices, making sandwiches, light food prep and organizing the storage area.
“The program proved to be so successful that we were fortunate to welcome additional Empower U groups throughout the school year,” Snider explained. “By year’s end, we had one group volunteering every day for an hour shift, along with two additional groups helping for two hours a day, twice a week.”
Wylynn Tomes, an Empower U instructional support specialist, said the Mel Trotter partnership was part of the Empower U’s job-training program.
“We like to partner within the community at different job sites that offer a variety of jobs,” Tomes said. “Through Mel Trotter, this gave students the experience of a realistic job and what it might look like working in food preparation.”
Alana said the team performed various jobs, noting her favorite was removing caps from mushrooms. She also layered bacon, made sandwiches and learned knife skills when slicing sausages.
Another aspect of working at Mel Trotter is to help students build empathy and understand the challenges some people face, Tomes said.
“We helped make a lot of people happy,” said Leslie Meneses-Mendez, who also attended the luncheon. “It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed it.”
Snider said the kitchen staff greatly appreciated the students’ support and valued the relationships they built with Empower U students and staff. The partnership even led one student to volunteer over the summer, she said.
Tomes and Snider both said the partnership will continue next school year.
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