Coolest. Job. Ever.

At least for my adult life ~ I DID grow up working in a bar/bowling alley/restaurant surrounded by family & friends & sports, you know !  I have been in various management positions, designed specialized equipment & production lines, was the “go to guy” for the owner of a $50-million per year company, and some other cool stuff.  While my new position may not be for everyone ~ I LOVE it !

And what am I doing now, you may ask (or not) ?  Managing one of the largest Emergency Food Pantries in Greater Cleveland !  This job has all the elements (except $$$) that I wanted in an ideal job : not sitting behind a computer all day analyzing reports, working for a non-profit and actually helping people, dealing with the public, close to home, not “dressing” for work, etc… ~ there’s a lot more but enough said.  I also get to work with many, many community groups for fund-raising, networking, outreach and the like.

It all started with me answering a want ad 8 months ago for volunteers needed for a local agency that has a very large food pantry, and social workers that can provide assistance with obtaining food stamps, utilities help, foreclosure & rental remediation, legal aid, employment assistance and many other services.  We are basically “one stop shopping” for almost all of our client’s needs.  We have a very diverse, multi-cultural clientele, and with a population base of around 125,000 people for our specific agency, there’s a lot of need !

I started volunteering in the pantry in March, and quickly became a supervisor and ran things when the volunteer pantry manager was out.  When that gentleman left in September, I became “acting” manager, working there every day.  Heck, I was unemployed with no prospects so why not ?  Everybody’s gotta be somewhere !

In late September they decided to make it a part-time paid position, and after a normal interview process I was asked to join the staff !  That was awesome, because I loved what I had been doing, but never thought it would be a career.  I am basically now getting paid for what I was doing for free, so it feels more like I got a raise than the ecstatic feeling one gets with a new job.  I am in charge of other volunteers, procuring, storing  & distributing perishable and non-perishable foods, inventory control & warehousing, and everything else that a large pantry would typically require.  I am also required to maintain operations within OSHA and FDA Guidelines.

On a side note, I also help manage our 5 community Farmer’s Markets, and am heavily involved in our Community Garden project (1,200 2,400 square feet !) in conjunction with the City of Lakewood.  It’s all very exciting stuff to me, and there’s a lot more going on than I care to bore you with (if anyone is even still reading).  I feel this has been the culmination of my quitting my job over two years ago, stepping out in faith (https://johntheirishman.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/ive-got-those-unemployment-blues/).  A strange series of events have led me here ~ well, not so strange ~ I see His hand all over it.  I am truly blessed…