Meet our volunteer of the month for September, Katie Erzen …

Katie started volunteering with Urban Gleaners in 2008, and alongside her daughters, has done the same donation pick-up route over the last 6 years. As the Urban Gleaners coordinator for her National Charity League chapter, Katie has coordinated and trained many mother/daughter volunteer teams, and has played a significant role in growing our volunteer base. In addition to orienting new NCL volunteers at Urban Gleaners, she has also covered many volunteer shifts as needed. Last year alone, Katie and her daughter Kira volunteered nearly 200 hours for Urban Gleaners! She is proud to have shared this work with her daughters, and values the personal relationships they have formed with our donors and food recipients. Katie loves that her girls have been able to experience the immediate impact that one person can make, and sees that it has increased their awareness of food waste and recovery. They appreciate the direct connection that Urban Gleaners volunteers have to our mission, and have loved contributing to our work through action. Katie recently passed the NCL coordinator torch to another member, but continues to volunteer weekly with Urban Gleaners. We feel lucky to have her, and are ever grateful for all her hard work!