Ambassador Trainings

Dining Out for Life relies heavily on its Ambassadors - volunteers stationed at one of our many, wonderful restaurants! It is important that every Ambassador attend a training - even if you've been an Ambassador before. We have some new, exciting parts of this event, and we don't want our Ambassadors to miss out! If you would like to help out with the largest restaurant event in Indianapolis, come to a training on:

• Thursday, March 31 from 9-11
• Thursday, March 31 from 6-8
• Saturday, April 2 from 10-2
• Tuesday, April 5 from 6-8

Please RSVP by calling Naomi at 317-632-0123 x262 or by emailing her at nwilliams@damien.org.

February Volunteer Spotlight - Phil G!

This month's volunteer spotlight is Phil G! Phil has been a long-time volunteer at The Damien Center, and he did a fantastic job in our new Speakers Bureau! Phil spoke on behalf of The Damien Center at Epworth United Methodist Church. This was the first speaking engagement for the Speaker's Bureau, and Phil did it admirably. You can often find Phil at the testing reception desk.

Have you ever held a volunteer position before?

No, nothing like this.

How do you hope to serve the community and our clients here at The Damien Center?

By doing whatever is needed of me, and attempting to further the mission.

What experience would you like to gain from your volunteer position here?

I'm not sure. I've done everything but clean the bathrooms!

What are some attributes that you feel you contribute to The Damien Center in your assigned position?

A smile in by voice and my heart, and an open mind.

What are your hobbies and interests?

• Working on my home and gardening
• Genealogy
• Crochet - I'd like to be more adept at it
• Working out at the gym and bicycling
• Purdue football
• Loving my family

Sneak Peek at our 2010 Report!

We're still processing some data for our 2010 Annual Report, but here is a sneak peek some exciting statistics that will be included!

• 98% of our clients rate their overall satisfaction of our food pantry as either neutral, somewhat satisfied, or highly satisfied. 78% of our clients said they were highly satisfied.
• Of our clients who responded to our survey and visited other food pantries in the Indianapolis area, 82.5% believe that our food pantry is at least as good, if not better, than other food pantries.
• The food pantry was accessed 4,416 times in 2010 and distributed 154,560 pounds of food.
• In 2010, we administered over 1,500 free HIV tests. Compared to the 974 free HIV tests administered in 2009, this is an increase of over 54%!

Naughty or Nice: A Smash Hit

On December 21, 2010, the National Touring Cast of Wicked put on a Christmas Cabaret to benefit The Damien Center's Coby Palmer Food Pantry Fund and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This event raised $5,350 - the most money any of these events has ever made!