Volunteer of the Month: Jack Wood

“From my first visit to Preble Street I was struck by how so many people worked together to prepare and serve meals to hundreds of people at a time. Since I am a firm believer in what my wife refers to as ant power — what happens when a lot of people do small things … Read more

Welcome to the new Volunteer Manager!

Please join us in welcoming Haley Foydel, the new Preble Street Volunteer Manager! In addition to remarkable energy, passion, and warmth, Haley brings a wealth of experience as a nonprofit project coordinator, a general manager of a restaurant group, a volunteer at Preble Street, and much more. Here, we share a short Q & A with her. How … Read more

Volunteer of the Month: Megan

Volunteering at Preble Street Food Programs involves a lot of scrubbing, chopping, and cooking, but the heart of the work reaches beyond the day to day of a kitchen. Volunteers bring kindness, insight, dedication, and compassion — and lots of puns and wit in the case of Volunteer of the Month Megan Ladd. “The conversation never fades when … Read more

Alternative Break Students Study Poverty and Policy

Certainly, the Bowdoin students who elected to spend a week in January doing community service accomplished good deeds. They served meals to homeless people in Portland. They cleaned out the basement of a local homeless shelter. They volunteered at a Brunswick food pantry.Yet they spent just as much time learning. They listened to social service … Read more

King Caps Off “Stuff the Bus” Thanksgiving Food Drive

PORTLAND, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined with community volunteers at Preble Street Resource Center in Portland to cap off another successful "Stuff the Bus" Food Drive. Senator King, along with the volunteers, helped unload a bus filled with donated food that will be distributed through Preble Street’s three soup kitchens – … Read more

Shawn McLaughlin: Gratitude in Action

One of the requirements for staying at the Congress Street house was meaningful activity, including regular volunteer work. McLaughlin began helping out at Preble Street. Preble Street assists area residents who are experiencing homelessness, hunger, and poverty. After a month at Preble Street, kitchen manager Sue Ellen Sevigny suggested that McLaughlin work there full time. … Read more

Freedom of speech: Emma Pope-Welch

It’s still one of the worst things anyone has ever said to her. Emma Pope-Welch was a 12-year-old middle school student in New Hampshire when classmates started bullying her. She had defended another kid who was being taunted with anti-gay slurs. Her goodwill prompted similar attacks on her awkward, unformed sexuality. By the end of … Read more