Every Shift is Different

Karen Gollegly started volunteering at the Haven in 2012, when a Master Gardener internship brought her to the garden beds out front. She’s still gardening at the Haven. But over the years, she’s found other ways to show up too.

Most Monday and Thursday mornings, Karen is at the front desk of the Community Food Market, checking people in. She tries to arrive a little before her shift starts at 10. Some days the room is already full. Some days it’s just a couple of people. The mix changes every time.

“It can be a single person. It can be a family with children. It can be people who have traveled from very far away.” Some are between jobs. Some are coming from appointments at the VA or Dartmouth Hitchcock. Some just need a place to warm up and charge their phone.

Karen walks each new shopper through how the market works. She asks a few basic questions, but only what people are comfortable sharing. “One of the things I love about the Haven is, if you want to be anonymous, you can be anonymous.”

After more than a decade of greeting people at the door, Karen has watched a lot of assumptions fall apart. “People presume that people accessing services aren’t trying. And it’s the exact opposite. We have people working multiple jobs. They come in in between jobs. I don’t know when they sleep. They’re making a choice of paying rent or paying a car payment, and that’s why they’re here shopping.”

When asked what stands out most about the people who come through the door, Karen didn’t hesitate. “Gratitude and resilience.”

She keeps coming back for the same reason a lot of long-time Haven volunteers do. The relationships. “Over 14 years, I’ve gotten to know a lot of people. And I think that is very motivating and rewarding for me.”

And she wants people to know that volunteering here doesn’t have to look one way. “You could volunteer one time only making a meal. You could then decide you want to do something else. You’re not locked into one particular thing.”

Karen is one example. She started in a garden and ended up at the front desk of the food market. There’s no single path. There’s just showing up.

If you’re interested in volunteering, visit our volunteer page to learn more.