Volunteer Spotlight: Elaine and Clive Woodhouse
This month we sat down with Elaine and Clive Woodhouse, who have been running Shop the Dock every Thursday since 2022. They have a long history of supporting their community through work and volunteering, and love the positive atmosphere at Food Lifeline. We love all the positive energy they bring every week, and are grateful for their ongoing commitment to our mission, and the many ways they support our community with creativity and care.
Elaine and Clive Woodhouse say their favorite part of volunteering at Food Lifeline is “walking in the door.” Weekly volunteers since 2022, they love the positive atmosphere created by staff, agencies, and volunteers working together to support community.
Every Thursday morning, you’ll find them at the epicenter of food distribution in our warehouse, running Shop the Dock, an innovative program that quickly distributes food that is close to the end of its shelf life to agencies for use at meal programs, shelters, or during same-day distributions.
Clive and Elaine work every session to support agency partners, keep everything running smoothly, and ensure the cooler and the dry food area stays stocked, which involves going back and forth from the warehouse to replenish food. This can be tricky, as sometimes 10 agencies will arrive at once, requiring them to quickly replenish the food.
They have a long history of supporting their community through work and volunteering. Originally from England, Clive worked many years as a cancer researcher. They currently teach after school classes at local schools, with Elaine also serving as the Artist in Residence at an elementary school.
Elaine’s background as a teacher and social worker has given her a personal understanding of the impact privilege and policy can have on our lives.
“It’s so easy for people to judge where people are and not take into account where they started,” said Elaine.
Years ago, when they were running their own business, Clive and Elaine lost their entire inventory in a freak accident when the train carrying their materials blew off a bridge. Because the derailment was ruled an “act of god” insurance wouldn’t cover the loss. Faced with a revenue shortfall, they ended up briefly visiting a food bank.
The experience drove home the precariousness of economic stability in the U.S.
“If we had all those advantages, and we still had to go to a food bank, then it really can happen to anybody overnight,” said Elaine.
Wanting to give back, they started volunteering at the West Seattle Food Bank.
“That’s how it all started,” said Clive. They volunteered every week at the food bank for several years.
When the pandemic hit and life slowed down, they saw it as an opportunity to return to volunteering, and started with Food Lifeline in 2022.
They immediately picked up on the positive energy of everyone working together toward a common goal.
“The atmosphere is so positive here. You feel so appreciated.”
-Elaine
They enjoy meeting all the agencies that come in, and seeing how the entire network operates to get food to communities. Seeing the food security system operate from both a food pantry and food bank perspective has allowed them to see the full circle of care, and given them a deeper understanding of how Food Lifeline supports and distributes to partner agencies to help make the entire system more efficient.
“I really like meeting the agencies who are coming in. We have direct contact with them and it’s interesting putting together how the whole thing functions in terms of helping food insecurity.”
-Clive
They also really enjoy the connections they’ve formed with staff and volunteers from other agencies, and have even volunteered on site with a partner agency, Catholic Community Services, to teach a computer class.
They say their relationship with staff has kept them coming back.
“Every time we leave, it’s like, thank you, guys,” said Elaine. “Thanks for what you do. And then when you walk in the door, it’s the same thing. I’ve never experienced that anywhere else. Even with all the ups and downs the energy in the building is always really positive.”
Clive says that walking in and seeing Kevin and the rest of the Volunteer Production Team every Thursday is one of his favorite parts of volunteering.
“I love those guys!”
In addition to getting a great workout, they enjoy the sense of fulfillment they get from volunteering.
To anyone thinking about volunteering they say, “Definitely at least try it. There are so many different ways to contribute.”
“You walk out feeling like you’ve done something worthwhile,” said Clive.
“That feeling of the integrity of the organization itself and the service it provides, the organization really walks the walk,” adds Elaine. “It’s a really good atmosphere.”