The Languages We Speak at #SoWhatElse

Last week, a lady came in to pick up her food at #SoWhatElse (SWE). She has been there before and I remembered that she is deaf. When I communicated with her in Sign Language, she was so happy. Her whole demeanor changed. I could see tension leave her body. We had a nice conversation while I checked her in and got her shopping cart.

After she left, I was thinking about other instances of people who have come in whose first language was not English or Spanish. When someone steps up and speaks to them in their language, it's awesome to see them relax while they get their food.

Then I decided to do a little research to see what languages the volunteers and staff at SWE speak. I sure was surprised with the results. Here are those languages:
English, Spanish,  Burmese, Cantonese, Dari, French, Persian, Chinese, Russian, Ebonics, Gullah, Hindi, Swahili, American Sign Language, and a little Hebrew. That's an impressive list, isn't it! When someone comes in and speaks a language that we don't know, we use Google Translate, which works out very well! 

And we all speak the universal language of love!

SWE is there to help people - ALL people. We do our best to serve people and meet their needs! Please share our story, and if you know someone who is in need, please send them our way.

Stay warm and safe in this weather. We are closed today and tomorrow.

All donations are tax deductible and greatly appreciated. Click the link below if you would like to donate.

https://linktr.ee/sowhatelsedonates

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Food Bank and More

#SoWhatElse (SWE) is much more than a food bank. We also have a lovely donation center. We have clothing for all ages. We have shoes, household goods, baby supplies, a diaper bank, and anything else that people donate. SWE has great youth programs and camps. Their staff travels to meet students where they are, bringing programs to the under-served neighborhoods. The programs are 100% free and offer nutritious meals and grocery pick-ups to students and their families, further creating resilient, empowered communities.  And, we have a whole slew of volunteers. Our volunteers shlep cases of produce to fill up shopping carts, the big Costco size, to give to our clientele. Our volunteers sort hangers and hang up the donated clothes. They fill grocery bags for our home deliveries and they make those home deliveries. They sweep and mop the floors. In other words, they work hard doing whatever needs to be done.  It's heartwarming to see what they do out of the goodness of their hearts...
Read more

The Languages We Speak at So What Else

#SoWhatElse(SWE) is a food bank in North Bethesda. I volunteer there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We serve everyone who needs food.  English is not the first language of many people who come. A lot of our clientele, volunteers, and staff speak Spanish. I spoke no Spanish a year and a half ago. I love to talk and I want to be able to speak with our people. So I decided to learn Spanish. I use 3 apps and try to practice an hour a day. Now I can manage to communicate with people who know some English. We use a little bit of Spanish, a little bit of English, and a little bit of Charades! When someone comes in and speaks no English, I need help from our fluent people. One day an Asian couple came in. They needed to make an appointment for food. They didn't speak Spanish or English. They only spoke Chinese. I tried to show them how to make an appointment,  but I needed help. I grabbed my phone and pulled up my Google Translate app. We went back and forth for a good 30 minutes. When we...
Read more

Making Connections

A big part of what I enjoy at #SoWhatElse (SWE) is making connections. The most obvious connection is between hungry people and food. Our clientele make food appointments on our website. They come in at the scheduled time and we check them in and connect them with a big shopping cart filled with food. That is the obvious connection, but definitely not the only one. My first connection was with SWE CEO, Dave Silbert. I have known Dave's father, Rich, my whole life because his uncle married my aunt. So we share cousins but we're not related. Through the family grapevine I found out about SWE. I talked with Dave and we decided that volunteering there would benefit me and SWE. I've been there for over a year. Once I got comfortable, I began to make connections with other volunteers as well as other employees. We all share a passion for helping get food to the people in need. At my age, it's wonderful to meet and become friends with so many new people! There are also built-i...
Read more