‘Tis the season to be helpful, compassionate and kind. It is also one of the most popular times of the year to give back and help those in need. But for Noah Caust and the rest of his Plainview family, they radiate generosity year-round.
‘Tis the season to be helpful, compassionate and kind. It is also one of the most popular times of the year to give back and help those in need. But for Noah Caust and the rest of his Plainview family, they radiate generosity year-round.
Caust, a Plainview resident, has been volunteering for five years with Island Harvest, the largest hunger relief program on Long Island.
“My whole family does the annual food drive at ShopRite and we donate to Island Harvest and the people who need it,” said Caust, who recalled a special memory three years ago when he was volunteering. “My family and I were all set up with a booth and there was this guy there who was pacing back and forth, not interacting with us and not shopping. After five minutes, he told my mom to follow him into ShopRite. She came back and had $1,000 in her hand from the man, who ran away.”
From that generous donation, the supermarket was able to donate 127 turkeys. The man, who remains anonymous, returns every year and gives Caust’s mother the same donation.
Island Harvest president Randi Shubin Dresner says that volunteers are an essential part of the organization’s mission.
“Volunteers are an extension of our staff. The only way we could get into the community as deeply as we do is because of the support of our volunteers,” Shubin Dresner said.
She says that in any given week, there are 3-400 volunteers working with Island Harvest. In 2013, they logged 70,000 hours of service. And volunteers are able to help in a variety of ways, using their specific skill sets.
“Many of our volunteers help pick up and deliver food, there are many others who help with their professional skills like graphic design, marketing, legal talents. We have all sorts of different tasks for the skills we have,” Shubin Dresner said.
For Caust, simply donating money isn’t as fulfilling as donating food.
“It’s nice to spend the day with my family and see other people that also want to give,” he said. “I can see on their faces that it means more to them to donate cans of food than money. You’re picking the item you want to donate and you’re seeing it go onto the truck.”
Caust loves to volunteer and has done so at his alma mater of Boston University, high schools and career fairs.
“I like helping people younger than me and I feel like there’s not a lot of organizations for people 18-25 years old who need just as much help if not more than anyone else. They’re the people who ask for it the least,” he said.
Island Harvest is always looking for volunteers. If you’d like to get involved or find out more information, check out www.islandharvest.org.
