“When I first came to volunteer after my son passed… it’s been really a healing process for me… I personally volunteer in honor of him, to make him proud,” she said.

Losing a loved one, especially a child, is difficult. It’s this grief that motivated Araceli to serve her community in memory of her son.

“It’s hard to go out there and face the world, knowing you’re going to come home and not see that person…I’m pretty sure that they will tell you, mom, dad – or brother, sister – to get up…live your life. Smile for me. Just go out there and do something in memory and help people out there” she said.

Since her son’s passing, over the course of two years, Araceli has donated 441 hours of her time in memory of her son. For every one hour a person volunteers, they can sort through 125 lbs of food or help provide 100 meals. Through her gift of time, Araceli’s service helped provide 44,100 meals for our community.

“We see people that are really struggling, and they are really appreciative of what we have done to help them out,” she said.

We want to thank Araceli, and volunteers like her, who help heal our community selflessly.

Thanks to community generosity, our resources and programs can transform lives.