Volunteer Spotlight: Mary McPeek
Mary McPeek
Mary McPeek, Volunteer Coordinator of Catholic Charities weekly drive-through food distribution at Saint Lucy Parish in Campbell, recently received a Distinguished Volunteer Fundraiser Award to honor her work. Mary – nominated by the agency’s Disaster Relief and Food Distribution Program – was one of several volunteers honored during the Association of Fundraising Professionals Silicon Valley Philanthropy Day held late last year.
Her work not only helps families who are struggling with food insecurity, but also elevates the program’s visibility in the community and supports the agency’s fundraising initiatives.
Saint Lucy’s weekly food distribution relies on 25-30 volunteers who support serving almost 800 families with free groceries. As the site Volunteer Coordinator since April of 2020, Mary helps in recruiting, training, and coordinating the volunteers who manage traffic street flow, parking lot management, touchless loading of groceries, handing out community resource flyers, and responding to volunteers and client questions.
“Mary goes above and beyond in making sure all aspects of the food distribution run smoothly. And she makes everyone that participates feel welcome,” said Araceli Gonzales, Division Director of Emergency Programs and Housing Services for Catholic Charities.
Having an efficient operation is essential to relieve stress among client families. Mary is committed to making sure that volunteers and clients are always treated with respect. Since our client families come from many cultures, she recruits Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, and English-speaking volunteers and places them at the walk-in station. Catholic Charities is able to continue this daily grocery distribution thanks to the generous public support and the incredible dedication of volunteers, like Mary.
To volunteer for Catholic Charities food distribution, visit:
ccscc.org/volunteer and click on the link to “Parish Engagement: Food Distribution, Accompaniment, Advocacy.”
