Volunteering at Forgotten Harvest is a good thing for many reasons. First and foremost, you’re lending a hand in the fight against hunger. Many of our neighbors are struggling with the income gap, meaning the money and resources they have access to aren’t enough to cover their basic needs. Forgotten Harvest and our volunteers help fill that gap with free food, taking at least one worry off our neighbors’ shoulders and creating some breathing room so they can focus on more than just their hunger.

Another pro of a Forgotten Harvest volunteer opportunity?
You might meet the one.

Daniel was at our 8 Mile campus volunteering with a group of his colleagues from Ancor Automotive a little over a year ago. Ancor volunteers with Forgotten Harvest several times a year, so Daniel was in for a regular day—until Chelsea walked in.

“I was one of the first people to get here, and I saw her come in,” Daniel said. “I already thought she was cute, so when they were calling for groups and she didn’t get up with ours, I was a little disappointed. But then they needed two more people, and she got up. At that point, I already knew in my mind that I was just going to make conversation with her and quote-unquote shoot my shot.”

Chelsea, spending time volunteering on her own, had noticed him too. She said, “I was kinda intimidated by [the Ancor group] all having the same shirts on, so I didn’t want to look over there, but he did catch my eye.”

On the food sort line, their sneaky glances turned into full-fledged conversation, and one debate over peanuts (are they nuts or legumes?) secured Daniel a date with Chelsea (turns out, they’re legumes.)

Daniel remembers, “Our conversation, our camaraderie, our chemistry were all there from the very moment.”

And meeting each other at a volunteer opportunity where both were giving of their time and energy to help people in need set the stage for a deeper trust between them.

“It just showed what type of person he is in general,” Chelsea said. “Him signing up to do it, being there, not complaining, being excited to help…I could tell it was helping him to be more grateful for his situation in being there. And just somebody overall that looks at life in that light, it’s like, okay, we do have some things in common, because you care.”

The pair went wine tasting on their first date and their conversation alone was so intoxicating, they barely touched the wine and didn’t even notice they stayed 20 minutes past closing. Over a year later, Daniel and Chelsea are still expanding their love for each other and their community alike.

“I think it’s important for people to look out for each other,” Chelsea said. “I think we live in a world where everything is so fast-paced and everybody’s so focused on going to work and checking things off their to-do list, it’s hard to see the bigger picture. I think when you slow down and you take time to do things like give back to your community—be it Forgotten Harvest, be it planting trees or volunteering at your kid’s school or just any type of slowing down and helping people out—I think it just helps you to have a better perspective on life in general.”

Daniel added, “It’s so easy to get wrapped up in your world and what you perceive to be your problems, but when you draw back and look at a bird’s eye view, there is always someone who’s worse off than you. You never know what situation you might be in, and just having that karmic deposit and being able to know that you did something to impact someone else, whether you benefited from it or not, it just gives me a good feeling. It feels like I’m making a positive impact on the world and gives me more purpose in my life.”

A loving bit of eye contact, and Chelsea finished for them: “And that is why we’re still here a year later.”