Making Connections: Second Harvest Heartland's Volunteer Center Manager

Nora Dragich is Second Harvest Heartland's Volunteer Center Manager. Her role includes a little bit of everything when it pertains to the Volunteer Center, including the preparation that goes into a packing shift. "I meet with Sarah on our Sourcing and Demand Planning team each week. We get to know what’s coming in, what products might be in house, and when certain items are expected," says Nora. "Part of my role is laying out what we are packing and requesting that product from Operations: ‘Can I have that truck of potatoes up here in the morning?’ and things like that."

A lot goes into a 90-minute volunteer shift in order to provide a seamless experience for our Second Harvest Heartland volunteers. "We're getting tables moved around, getting scales out, buckets out, and making sure we’re getting the product out of the warehouse and into the Volunteer Center. Our Volunteer Center Ambassadors sign up for their roles during the day—are they delivering the introduction to our volunteers? Are they taking charge of the finished goods? Are they providing instructions? Meanwhile they’re all meeting and greeting volunteers and getting them checked in: helping with coats, getting jewelry taken off, gum spit out, all that fun stuff!"

The work that goes into each shift is to make sure that everyone feels that their time in our Volunteer Center is valued. "We call ourselves a kind of gateway volunteer experience because we make it as easy as possible. There isn’t one big, long orientation—you hop on our website and find a shift that works for you. We have a seven-minute introduction to the Volunteer Center: you wash your hands, get another five minutes of instructions, and then you get to business!"

Nearly 1,000 volunteers come into Second Harvest Heartland's Volunteer Center each week, and Nora wants to make sure that after a volunteer's shift, they're more educated about Second Harvest Heartland's mission to end hunger together. "We're not just a Volunteer Center. We want to let them know that they can become a donor—they can learn about other different ongoing volunteer opportunities. Do they know someone that could be a pro bono volunteer, or even be one themselves?"

"We are always thinking about how we can get volunteers to the next step: how can I get volunteers to continue to help here at Second Harvest or at a local level," adds Nora. "I want everyone to have a connection with us: maybe they come back and volunteer, or maybe they say something positive to a friend or family member."

Nora is appreciative of all of the volunteers that come through the Volunteer Center, but she is especially appreciative of the entire Volunteer Center team. "Everybody on our team sees thousands of pounds of food move every single day. There might be days when you come home physically tired. But you’ve impacted lives, and that’s so incredibly powerful. We have that benefit every single day. We’re putting meals on tables, and that’s mind blowing."