Sharing Place Intern

I am interning with Lutheran Child and Family Services at their Sharing Place Food Pantry Location.  Sharing Place is an assistance program that provides food and other materials to families that live in nine area codes in Marion County. Families can receive food once a month during the open times on weekdays (Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday) and are allowed to come for another visit on the 2nd Saturday of the month.  They used to also have clothing assistance but stopped doing that due to COVID-19. My duties and responsibilities vary depending on the day that I am working. When I work on Tuesdays or the 2nd Saturday of the month  I am in charge of checking in with each guest when they walk in the door by inputting their information into our system and also making sure that they haven’t used up their monthly visit. I also communicate with them about other places they can visit around the area. I have also had to put a lot of my Spanish skills to the test, as many families can only speak Spanish. On Friday’s I deal with a lot of prep work and also picking up any donations from many of the stores or companies that we receive food from. I have talked with my supervisor about different ways that we can try to better the experience for the families that come to the pantry and ways that we can better communicate with those that there is a language barrier. I have had guests that were on the deaf spectrum or spoke another language, besides Spanish/English, and had to figure out different ways to communicate so they can get help

Supervisor: Kathy Dalla Costa

Company: Lutheran Child and Family Services of Indiana/Kentucky

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