Volunteer Spotlight: Carlin Distribution Crew

Every year, we highlight a group of volunteers who go above and beyond for AFAC. This year, our Volunteer Group of the Year is the Carlin distribution crew! The Carlin is a senior living apartment complex, and AFAC holds a distribution at the Carlin every Thursday morning. Usually, our offsite distributions are run by the building manager or resident services coordinator, but for the past few years the Carlin distribution has been run by the volunteers. This is a big task, but the volunteers have risen to the occasion!

AFAC started sending volunteer helpers to the Carlin beginning in 2020. The Carlin has held distribution in the hallway, in the parking garage during construction, and now is held in their new community room. Throughout the whole process, volunteers and clients have been very flexible and willing to make it work whatever the circumstances.

About 12 percent of our clients are seniors, so it is a priority to be able to hold distribution at senior housing sites around Arlington. By sending food directly to the Carlin each week, AFAC ensures easy access to nutritious groceries for residents. Our volunteer crew is the powerhouse behind this process and makes sure everyone receives food. They even set aside food for clients who cannot make it to distribution so they can pick up their groceries when they come home.

This month we want to say a big thank you to the Carlin volunteer team: Petra, Chris, Pamela, Veronica, Mark, John, Inez, and Selena.