31 Days of Giving – Loaves and Fishes

by Audra Ellis, Tri-County Community Partner Liaison, MiCAFE

Loaves and Fishes is a familiar organization to me now since I have volunteered here five times. I was able to get to know the staff and organization very well after Rachael Savoie and I volunteered here last year during our first year of 31 Days of Giving. I liked the staff and what the organization did so much that I came back and volunteered three more times last year. I also stopped by randomly throughout the past two years to drop off donations for their shelter.

This year I helped by transferring the staff schedules, volunteer schedules, and the sponsor of their nightly dinners to their 2015 calendar. While this seems like an easy task, it was actually quite complex because of the numerous volunteers and dinner sponsors. For those of you who aren’t aware of this organization, they are an emergency and transitional housing shelter. Loaves and Fishes provide meals, transportation, and laundry services to their residents. The emergency housing is up to 14 days, and the transitional housing is up to 24 months.

They are located in Lansing, and serve the Tri-County area. If you are interested in volunteering or donating, please contact Beth Young at 517-482-2099. If you are unable to donate money they’re also in need of food, clothing, and personal care items. For a full list of needed items, check out their wish list.

Audra is the MiCAFE Tri-County Community Partner Liaison at Elder Law of Michigan. She has been with Elder Law since February of 2009.

Before coming to Elder Law, Audra worked as a Shift Leader at Alcohol Drug Administrative Monitoring, where she oversaw shift changes and worked closely with clients developing her communication skills.

As a member of the MiCAFE team, Audra works closely with MiCAFE community partners and seniors in the tri-county area. She also partakes in case management and delegates attorney correspondence, working closely with both clients and attorneys to keep daily activities within the organization running smoothly and efficiently. Audra also helps Elder Law give back to the community by building partnerships with local organizations.