Four years ago, Mike Granucci began volunteering at Barnabas. He said, “Volunteering gave me something to do after being retired for 15 years.”

First, Mike was involved in Barnabas’ Callahan food distribution process. Then, he managed the kids’ meal pack program, which was feeding 250 school children who were at risk of homelessness each week but was facing a funding cut. At the same time, Mike was seeing an increased need for the meal pack program.

“I’m a Rotary Club of Amelia Island Sunrise member and asked several members to join me in a task force to figure out how to reduce the cost of the meal packs and increase the distribution, ultimately feeding more hungry kids,” Mike said. As a result of their research and meetings, he and the task force volunteers were successful at lowering the cost of each meal and increasing the number of weekly meal packs to feed 335 children.

Mike and his Rotary Club connections is the perfect example of how volunteers can make a significant impact. Not only did Mike and his task force find a solution to enable Barnabas to feed more children, the  Rotary Club of Amelia Island Sunrise awarded Barnabas a $10,000 grant to help with the purchase of a new truck for Barnabas food program and  New to You Resale Store.

Mike explains how much he has gained by volunteering to help his neighbors in need. “I get a lot of personal satisfaction from talking with our food clients and hearing their stories. I feel great knowing I’m helping people,” he said. “Also, providing updates to my fellow Rotarians about Barnabas, and sharing the need for food in our community has deeply touched my heart.”