Recently we hosted a Volunteer of the Year Appreciation event to recognize some of our outstanding volunteers. Eight volunteers and two corporate groups were celebrated for their commitment, action, and care to our organization. This group represents some of the many volunteers who allow us to provide love and care for critically ill San Diegans. Here are the Volunteers of the Year for 2022 and 2023.

2022

Don Giaquinto

Don was honored for his work at special events for nearly two decades. Every Mama’s Day, every Pie Season, every Tree of Life, Don Giaquinto’s hands-on, can-do attitude is key in making your favorite events run smoothly. Throughout volunteering at events, he has demonstrated the ability to see hiccups arise and take action to find a solution. If you haven’t met Don, he’s also a fun person to be around, and his dedication to Mama’s Kitchen in general is evident in his consistent efforts. Thank you, Don!

April Heinze

In 2022, April Heinze joined the Board of Directors and took Mama’s Kitchen by force accomplishing an astounding 194 hours in her first year of service. Since 2022, she has continued to grow her hours each year with over 300 hours. April is currently serving as the Board Governance Committee chair, and she delivers multiple routes every delivery day! Thank you, April!

Corporate Group – SAIC

For 2022, the corporate volunteer group award goes to SAIC, a local technology company that works across the defense, space, civilian, and intelligence markets in IT, engineering, and professional services. They were recognized after we’ve hosted multiple valuable groups from SAIC for several years. Thank you, SAIC!

Lifetime Service Award – John McCarthy

Our final award for 2022 is our Lifetime Service Award. Mama’s Kitchen has awarded a Volunteer Lifetime Service Award since 2019 to honor volunteers who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment and dedication to our organization during their service.

This award recognizes the lasting impact of their service to Mama’s Kitchen and the San Diego community at large, highlighting their consistent contributions and leadership to our mission.

The 2022 Mama’s Kitchen Lifetime Service Award was given to John McCarthy. John has been volunteering with us for so long that we don’t have an accurate record of his hours. John is so necessary to our operation that he has a special volunteer shift, he’s included in the prep assignments in the kitchen team’s morning meetings on Tuesday and Thursday, and he is in the kitchen twice a week to support our kitchen crew with all the prep work that goes into our scratch-made meals.

Past the amount of time he’s volunteered, more than the vegetables chopped, and food that he’s prepared, John is simply fun to have in the kitchen. His dry wit and sense of humor keeps morale up in the kitchen. Like other volunteers who have received this award, John honors us by sharing his dedication and hard work consistently. Thank you, John!

 

2023

Jon Nicastro

Many of you may know of Pat Pasquill, our most relentless and famous volunteer, but some may not know that her son, Jon Nicastro, spent a lot of time with us in 2023—over 100 hours and continues to dedicate time to Mama’s Kitchen. Since 2023 Jon has taken a lot of time out of his other obligations to support our efforts and did so calmly, quietly, and with the dedication that we so appreciate from our volunteers. Thank you, John!

 

Melissa Cutler

We also wanted to honor a new volunteer who has shown exemplary dedication as well as kindness and joy since starting at Mama’s Kitchen—Melissa Cutler. Melissa started volunteering in late 2023 but quickly became a frequent face around the kitchen. She did exactly what the best new volunteers do—she tried many different shifts before settling on what worked best for her: delivery driving. She quickly adopted a Tuesday route, didn’t blink when it grew to upwards of 20 clients, and when we split it into two routes, she took both. She even adopted a new route on Fridays. Even more than her reliability, we look forward to seeing her big, infectious smile every delivery day! Thank you, Melissa!

 

Corporate Volunteer – Navy Federal Credit Union

Since August of 2022 Navy Federal has committed to sending a group of staff to volunteer at Mama’s Kitchen on the first Tuesday of every month. We’re so grateful for the consistent commitment to our mission over the last two years. Their spirit of giving and volunteerism that Navy Federal has given us is truly exceptional. Thank you, Navy Federal!

AJ Paul and Meredith Minerich

Our last 2023 Volunteer of the Year awards are awarded as a pair because that’s usually how we see them—together. AJ Paul and Meredith Minerich have been volunteering together since 2022 and have become an integral part of our Thursday crew. AJ is a champ on the Grocery Bag shift and is our go-to “Muscle Man” for moving the heavy boxes of fruit up onto the tables. We all look forward to Fun Sock Thursdays and hearing the latest of AJ’s weekly adventures or recent trips.

Meredith joined us as AJ’s direct support professional, and she quickly realized that she could support Mama’s Kitchen in her way at the Front Desk. She is a reliable and enthusiastic volunteer there, helping Client Services and always checking in before she goes upstairs, “Is there anything special I should expect from phone calls today?” Thank you, AJ and Meredith!

 

Lifetime Service Award – Richard Moore

While this volunteer has not even hit a decade of service, his time and dedication to this organization is nearly unparalleled—Richard Moore. Richard began volunteering in 2016 and joined the Board of Directors in 2021.

With over 1,700 hours of delivery driving, he has spent two-and-a-half months in his car for Mama’s Kitchen clients. Most days, he delivers three routes, sometimes four—as much as or more than any paid staff driver. Rather than adopt routes, Richard prefers “diversity” not just for fun, but because he knows it’s what helps our team the most.

“Let me know where you need me,” should be his catchphrase! All this delivery driving would be impressive, but Richard also provides important and detailed feedback on route timing and delivery hiccups. He is also a reliable presence at Pie Central during the Mama’s Pies fundraiser. We’re so honored and grateful to him. Thank you, Richard!

 

Thank you to all the volunteers and awardees for your belief in our mission and for ensuring that no San Diegan battles critical illness alone. We are truly grateful for our community of volunteers who make Mama’s Kitchen a welcoming, supportive, and driving force for good. Your work is invigorating to behold and is the only reason we can provide support to our community. Thank you from all of us at Mama’s Kitchen!