Shalom Community Center helps those in need, ‘no questions asked’

The Shalom Community Center is capable of providing relief to Bloomington residents in need, but they rely on the work of much needed volunteers.

Generating excitement about the Shalom Center among students is extremely important this time of year.

“The number of volunteers plummets when students leave (for school), so organizations like the Shalom Center need to fill gaps by reaching out to students,” said Elizabeth Savich, director of the Bloomington Volunteer Network. “The climbing poverty rate is also a factor.”

She added that volunteers are a critical ingredient to the success of the Shalom Center.

Shalom Center provides a variety of aid to homeless or impoverished people, ranging from daily meals to telephone calls, to bus and gas vouchers, and to showers and restrooms.

Volunteering at the Shalom Center can include anything from serving meals in the kitchen, helping in general hospitality, chatting with guests or working at the food pantry found at Templeton Elementary School, Volunteer Coordinator Pam Kinnaman said.

The kitchen at the Shalom center assists in the provision and distribution of food to Shalom Center attendees in an assortment of ways, Kinnaman said.

Most of the food made in the kitchen comes from donations from community members or the Hoosier Hills Food Bank said Ron Kerner, director of hunger relief at Shalom Community Center Kitchen.

There is only one base worker at the Shalom Center kitchen, Kerner, and the rest are volunteers, which in 2007 included 450 different faces.

“The best part about working at the Shalom Kitchen is being able to help others and contribute to the overall well-being of those in need of help,” Kerner said.

The emergency grocery program is another service the Shalom Community Center offers to provide for families in need of food, according to their Web site.

The food pantry at Templeton Elementary School is also run by the Shalom Center, and is a significant facet of food distribution in the Bloomington community, said Kinnaman.

One of the most attractive elements of the house is the embracement of a “no questions asked” policy, Kinnaman said. A minimal number of questions are asked to the recipients of aid, which makes the distribution of help or aid in urgent situations easier.

Perhaps the most important part of the Shalom Community Center is the pride it takes in the respect for all guests, and the genuine concern for all people’s well-being, Kinnaman said.