By Susan Shinn
For The Salisbury Post
CHINA GROVE ó Ice cream with fresh strawberries, sunny skies, good friends. Sounds like a recipe for a great afternoon, right?
It was a great afternoon Sunday at Main Street Mission, as the organization hosted a Volunteer Appreciation event for its volunteers, donors and supporting churches.
Organizers prepared for some 200 people, and probably a good half that number attended the event, visiting with one another, enjoying refreshments and listening to the Flat Possum Hoppers String Band as they performed out on the expansive front porch.
Director Anne Corriher said she was glad so many folks were sitting out on the front lawn. Lots of times, she said, people drive by and donít know what goes on at Main Street Mission, because the parking and main entrance are at the back.
A lot goes on.
The food pantry is open 1:30-4 p.m. Monday and Friday and 8:30-11 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Corriher teaches an ESL class on Wednesday afternoons. About three dozen volunteers help her each week, each with a specific job. Thereís always much to do. Main Street Mission currently assists 250 families a month, and the numbers always seem to be growing.
Thatís why Corriher and the board members are so grateful for all their volunteers.
Main Street Mission looked its best on Sunday as the facility was open for tours. The place is usually a beehive of activity, but was quiet for once. The inside was sparkling clean, the floors swept, the shelves neatly stocked. The freezers and refrigerators were humming but they were not full of food.
Corriher said that the food pantry is always in need of peanut butter and jelly, instant potatoes, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, canned fruit and toiletry items.
Around back, where volunteers and clients enter, Corriher was proudly showing off new flower beds designed by Alan Goodman of Goodman Farm Supply, just a couple of blocks away.
ěIt makes a big difference having flowers here,î Corriher said.
She was eager to introduce one of her newest volunteers, Desiree Roach, a seventh-grader at Corriher-Lipe Middle School.
Roach had done some volunteer work with her dad she said, ěAnd I wanted to volunteer for something else.î
Roach helps watch the children of ESL students on Wednesday afternoons.
ěWe needed more help,î Anne said. ěThere are just a lot of little ones right now.î
Also helping out Sunday were members of Boy Scout Troop 301, who dished out ice cream, strawberries and poured cups of cold water, and helped with parking, too.
Board member Jerry Haigler, a local State Farm agent and Methodist pastor, has been on the board for a year and a half.
ěWe are a working board,î he said. ěWe are very much involved in Main Street Mission and supporting Anne. Her work extends far beyond giving food out. Her most important role is connecting those in need with those who can provide.î
Roger and Bernice Frost volunteer with Cooperative Christian Ministries in Kannapolis, but donate food and plastic bags to Main Street Mission. Bernice is friends with one of the volunteers. The Frosts bought some Pattersonís Strawberries and enjoyed the ice cream, too.
The Rev. Steve Wilson, another board member, is pastor of First Baptist Church, which helped to found Main Street Mission with Dr. Eric Troyer.
ěItís just wonderful how the community has taken over,î the pastor said. ěWe sure love Anne. What a blessing she is.î
Volunteer Dee Stefanick agreed. She and husband Andy have volunteered there for two years.
ěWhen she looks at you, a spark just starts perking inside your heart,î Dee said. ěAnne is the spark that keeps the fire going.î
Anne deflects any praise she receives to the volunteers.
In her remarks, she called them the heartbeat of the mission.
ěIt takes a lot of hands and feet and warm hearts and giving spirits to do the work that needs to be done,î she said.
Even though she had no gift or certificate for the many volunteers, she said, ěYou know how much I love you and you know how much I appreciate you.î
Anne told a story about volunteer Maria Sanchez, who told Anne, ěI love you too much.î
Anne tried to correct her by saying, ěI love you very much,î but then it got to be a joke between the two women.
ěI love every one of you too much!î Anne said from the porch.
The feeling from the volunteers is definitely mutual.
Freelance writer Susan Shinn lives in Salisbury. She and her son have volunteered at Main Street Mission.