Nancy Hemesath, the Executive Director of Ted E. Bear Hollow, an organization addressing the needs of grieving children and their families who have lost loved ones, shared the following story of
IVC Omaha volunteer Mary Beth Manninger…
The Olive Garden Story
Mary Beth Manninger visited churches to enlighten them about Ted E. Bear Hollow and what we have to offer. She also was looking for some support for food preparation of support group nights—a main item to help us be sure the potluck meals were balanced. Many of our families are very low income and others do not have the time to prepare nutritious meals. Each support group is about 60 people.
Mary Beth was not having much luck with the churches so she decided to visit the neighboring restaurants to see if they would help. She has had many successes but the one that stands out is the Olive Garden on 75th and Dodge. She visited the manager Mike and explained Ted E. Bear Hollow and our need. He asked to see the list of dates and then said Olive Garden would take all the dates until the end of the year—four meals for 60 people each. Mary Beth has coordinated the pick-up of the meals and the thank you notes. She has had families, volunteers, children and staff sign various thank you notes. The Olive Garden staff was delighted!
In January we got a call from the manager. He invited us to have lunch at Olive Garden (ten people) as their guests. He then told us that they would be presenting a $1,000 check to us for our work. Staff and volunteers had a delightful, delicious lunch visiting with the manager. He explained that every restaurant was given $1,000 for a local charity. When he visited with his staff, he said it was a no brainer. They help lots of charities but ours stood out because of the work we do and the gratitude we have expressed. Mary Beth followed up at the luncheon and got a commitment of one meal per month for 2010.
This wonderful new relationship is due entirely to Mary Beth’s initiative and sensitivity! She is a great part of our team.
Want to read more stories about the amazing work of Ignatian Volunteer and the people they impact each day?
Please click on an IVC region on the left and check out “Volunteer Stories.”
