Share the Table

Surf City, North Carolina

Gifts for volunteers thank nonprofit’s powerful support squad

Nonprofit Share the Table opens in new window began in October 2010 to help combat foot insecurity in North Carolina’s Onslow and Pender counties. Inspiration came to Dawn Ellis, executive director, while helping put on a community meal at her church. Upon recognizing the need, she was moved to launch the faith-based organization that is now supported by several churches, civic organizations and local businesses, and feeds more than 1,200 community members each week.

Share the Table runs a client-choice food pantry, which features a grocery store-like setup where clients choose their own items as opposed to receiving a prepacked bag or box. Share the Table hosts a free weekly community meal, a high school food closet, and a backpack program for elementary and middle school students. The backpack program helps distribute food weekly to children while they’re in school and also during the summer through home delivery.

Neighbors feeding neighbors

Share the Table is powered by a small but mighty team. Ellis is the lone full-time employee, and she has one part-time colleague. A team of about 120 weekly volunteers helps carry out the mission. Together, they distributed more than 620,000 pounds of food last year—amounting to more than 522,000 meals.

“We have been blessed,” Ellis said. “We don’t have to do any recruiting. Many of our volunteers have been with us since the beginning. It’s amazing.”

With a variety of programs, volunteers fill many roles, including stocking pantry shelves and distributing meat and produce. Others transport goods, prepare and serve community meals, donate and collect items, and more. The organization also has a board of directors, plus committees that work on fundraising and grants. Beyond its regular volunteers, there’s a waitlist of about 85 people interested in getting involved.

Gifts for volunteers are a token of gratitude

A one by one grant provided Share the Table with branded notebooks opens in new window. Ellis gave them as gifts for volunteers. “They can use the notebooks for whatever they want,” she said. “A lot of the volunteers are seniors, and they always like to write stuff down.”

“Showing appreciation is important because volunteers are the heart and soul of the organization,” Ellis said. “They enjoy what they do, and they say they get more out of it than they put in—and they put in a lot,” she said.

A note from Cheryl

The work Share the Table does to combat community hunger—including its variety of programs for different audiences—is remarkable. We were proud to support this work by providing branded gifts for volunteers to remind them their hard work and dedication is appreciated. If you’re interested in a one by one grant, visit onebyone.4imprint.com opens in new window.

For more information about Share the Table, please visit https://sharethetablenc.com/ opens in new window