Helping Hands From West Shore ESD

During the school year you can find members of the Horizons class from West Shore ESD helping out around the Food Club on Wednesday afternoons. This awesome group jumps in to lend a hand with repacking, stocking, packing bags for the weekend backpack program, and everything in between! We spoke to teacher Rachel Grimes to learn more.

Q: Can you tell us about this class and why students work and volunteer as part of it?

A: The Horizons Classroom is part of Westshore ESD. Students are ages 20-26. The goal of our program is for students to be independent, contributing members of their community. Volunteering at Lakeshore Food Club helps us build employability skills and students get a great experience volunteering.

Q: Are there any other aspects of the class that would be interesting for the LFC community to know?

A: Students participate in a variety of work experiences and community-based instruction. You might see us at America's Fitness Center (AFC), Family Video, McDonald's or Comfort Inn and lots of other places in the community!

Q: Is there anything in particular students enjoy about coming to the Food Club?

A: Students love working the "bag machine." They enjoy seeing their finished work and being able to work independently. As a teacher I love that they are learning different skills. It is so much more than just volunteering. They learn math by weighing produce and to interact with community members. We are very grateful for the opportunity to volunteer at Lakeshore Food Club.