Volunteer Highlight: Derrick Murrell and Family
Volunteers are instrumental to Food Lifeline’s mission to end hunger. Last year alone, 18,000 volunteers donated 64,000 hours of service.
Derrick Murrell, a Tacoma firefighter, has been volunteering for more than seven years. Eagar to connect with the community, he first volunteered at Food Lifeline during Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest single-day food drive. After his first time volunteering, he was moved to grow his commitment to solving hunger. He has since returned with his family to volunteer in the Hunger Solution Center.
Seeking opportunities to volunteer with his family and to build relationships in the community, Derrick was drawn to Food Lifeline. “Volunteering gives us the opportunity to not only build with the volunteers but build with the community and the relationships that you get when you serve together,” said Derrick.
“Being able to come with my family and being able to serve with my kids has been huge,” he added. “Serving others allows me to help them understand the importance of thinking beyond themselves, for something greater and bigger than themselves. This is one of the few opportunities that we get to volunteer as a family, so we will continue doing this for as long as I foresee.”
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Derrick and his son Judea, volunteered with Seattle Church of Christ in coordination with Hope Worldwide. Judea, a volunteer for three years, said his favorite activity that day was scooping the cereal. “It’s fun to scoop the food out of the boxes and put them in where they are supposed to go,” Judea said.
