If you have ever joined the Erie City Mission for a public lunch, odds are you’ve been served by this volunteer.
Lake City resident Connie Garrison is a well-recognized volunteer at public meals for the Erie City Mission at 1017 French St.
It was through her church that she found the opportunity.
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“I started volunteering once a month with my church, Real Life Assembly of God,” Garrison said. “There was a group that went to the Mission to volunteer. I started doing that and I enjoyed that and felt the need to do more.”
Garrison volunteers at the City Mission more often now that she is retired. She has been volunteering for more than 10 years.
Anyone who attends a public meal at the Erie City Mission at 1017 French St. can find Connie Garrison helping around the kitchen
What does Connie Garrison do at the Erie City Mission?
When Garrison volunteers at the Erie City Mission, she can be found working in the kitchen helping prep and serve meals to those who visit.
It’s the people she encounters on a daily basis that gives her the drive to serve at meals.
“Everybody that I’ve encountered there has been really nice and it’s been rewarding to work with people who come in for help,” Garrison said. “They enjoy the interactions with volunteers too.”
Thinking of volunteering at the Erie City Mission?
Garrison said there are a lot of different opportunities that come with volunteering at the Erie City Mission.
“Anyone interested should look online and see what’s available,” Garrison said. “They have the Urban Education Programs, they have people that do office work, people who do outreach, there’s just a variety of different things. I don’t think a lot of people are aware of how much is there in regards to helping people.”
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Garrison said that the work she does is more rewarding than any amount of pay they can offer her.
“I get more out of it than I put into it,” Garrison says. “It’s one of those things where you hear ‘thank you’ and you’re humbled by that because I should be the one saying thank you. Just being able to meet so many people, 95% of which are really nice. It makes me feel good to be there.”
It’s even the friendships and familiarity she’s developed at the City Mission that keeps her drive alive.
“I’ve been doing it for so long that a lot of the faces that come in for meals are familiar,” Garrison said. “I would miss them if I didn’t see them.”
Nicholas Sorensen can be contacted at Nsorensen@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: How Connie Garrison serves those in need at the Erie City Mission