October 2020: Michael first heard about Bidwell a year ago when he was transitioning out of homelessness and had his first apartment, and he came to the Bidwell Food & Clothing Pantry to find household items. When he was here, he noticed how friendly the staff was and how they treated every single client with dignity and respect. A couple months later, he decided he wanted to start volunteering to give back to the community who helped him on his journey to self-sufficiency, and he remembered how friendly everyone was at Bidwell. He started volunteering by stocking shelves in the Food & Clothing Pantry, and now he picks up food recovery a couple times a week from HyVee. “It’s amazing how many people it takes to run a place like Bidwell,” Michael said. “It takes a whole community – everyone that volunteers here, from the elderly ladies that work so hard, to the young guys who come help, to families who bring in donations, so many different people come together to make it happen. Everyone who works here is committed and dedicated – it’s so impressive and it makes you just want to keep coming back to help more.”