The Empowerment Center in Tacoma serves others by “Giving food, hope, dignity and a
pathway out of poverty through employment.” Since the Shelter In Place order was first put in place, more and more people are out of work. They are desperate for food to feed their families. As a way of continuing to serve these families and still maintain the recommended 6ft of social distancing, The Empowerment Center created the “Drive Through for Groceries Project, where boxes of groceries are handed out every Saturday.
With this increase in need comes an increased need for volunteers. They are in great need of volunteers each Saturday who are under 60 years of age, not high risk, and have not been sick in the 14 days prior to volunteering. They are maintaining a safe environment by providing each volunteer with a mask, gloves, and use of hand sanitizer. Volunteers don’t interact with the people they serve. Shifts include 9am – 1pm and 12pm – 4pm.
Prepackaged groceries according to family size are loaded into the vehicles. The Empowerment Center is serving more than 500 families each week. In addition to the families who drive through, they are providing food for their partner ministries, motel dwelling families, low income apartment buildings, and neighbors.
Check out their website for more information: www.theempctr.org If you want to find  out more about volunteering Saturdays at The Empowerment Center, contact Shelley Sullivan, LRF Business & Volunteer Development Director Southend, at shelley@libertyroadfoundation.org or 206.707.3335.