The snowball effect of volunteering!

At La Transformerie, especially about our Rescapés project, we see it day after day: volunteering is a key ingredient, and even seems to be at the heart of our recipe.  But not the marmalade or our BBQ sauce. No, much more than that. The recipe for our success, nothing less! 

In fact, volunteering literally ensures the realization of the Rescapés project, which is able to continue its activities and constantly evolve thanks to people who believe in its mission enough to give it what they have most precious: time.

Every week, 20 to 30 volunteers from an active pool of about 160 people are working in our offices! In total, 5,600 hours of volunteer work per year make a crucial difference, both for us at La Transformerie and for those families who benefit from the redistribution of the food collected.

However, what do they and the volunteers have to gain from this self-giving? Is it one-way? Are all the impacts of volunteering measured only in numbers, material and quantifiable? We wanted to know, and the portrait drawn by the collected answers is as vast as it is inspiring!

Giving back

And yes! It may sound like a cliché, but when you ask volunteers why they get involved, several times a week for certain (e) s, it is out of desire to give back. Madeleine, a quiet force, smiling and faithful to the post almost every week, simply answers us “I wanted to give back to others what I received!” 

On Jean’s side, same kind of speech. When he retired, he became somewhat aware of his life journey, for which he feels pampered, both personally and professionally I have had events in my life that could have gone wrong and were very difficult, but which eventually turned into something positive. I’m really lucky.” 

Thus, after the first months of retirement, the need to activate and give back, but without the restrictions that a job can involve, the volunteer avenue has naturally presented itself, and fulfills this desire to give to the next! (And there, it is us at La Transformerie who are blessed to be around him! 😉 )

Getting the job done 

Giving back to your community, in addition to doing so for a cause in which you believe, allows you to feel useful and engaged in projects that are bigger than you.  It can be seen as a form of activism, of taking action.

This involvement can considerably increase the importance, visibility and impact of causes that are not necessarily profitable financially, but have goals all the more useful! 

To take the example of La Transformerie, volunteering allows the organization to collect unsold products, part of which is used to make sauces, marmelades and spreads Rescapés, and the other is distributed to food aid. The sale of these products both raises awareness among the general public and retailers, and acts as a gateway to other large-scale outreach activities that work directly at the heart of food systems. Without volunteering, the organization could not go that far, but its mission to highlight and stop food waste is no less important, as are many others! 

It is also a way to use an experience. Jean, with his career in food processing, has even been able to help us solve mysteries with the textures of our strawberry and pineapple spreads. 

However, although they are always welcome, no specific knowledge is necessary to bring water to the mill of a cause that we care about, motivation and desire for contribution are more than enough! 

All this significantly increases the wealth and diversity of our society. It can therefore be said without a doubt that volunteering creates value in sectors that are either unknown, difficult to monetize, or poorly valued. In the food waste situation, it is a fact: the unsold have bad press, and the work of La Transformerie to restore their status is colossal, essential… and made possible by volunteering ! 

Meet, connect and create links

Volunteering is also the theatre of encounters and human experiences of all kinds. It allows us to connect, exchange and even develop links and friendships. 

Many tell us to come back among other things for the collective character that is knitted over the meetings, and which makes the tasks to be performed much more pleasant and exciting.  “I love the friendly atmosphere in the kitchen,” says Madeleine. Maude finds that “the atmosphere is welcoming!”  Gaetane, meanwhile, takes advantage of her retirement to volunteer. She gets the gratification of working for her values, but also stimulating interactions: “I found a real nice gang here!” 

For anyone wishing to break the isolation that our current society can foster, one could say that this small network that weaves itself over time around common goals becomes a form of social net. Self-sufficient, it survives thanks to the people who participate voluntarily, with the simple purpose of uniting, contributing and giving back to the community to which they belong. Some (s) meet only once, learning the ephemerality that lies in spontaneous encounter, while others will bond friendship. 

In any case, this wealth that is born in the human connection far transcends any notion of material and financial capital!

Bring an outside look 

In a work environment, let’s say “conventional”, you will often find people who are alike, whose sought-after qualities and profiles will be interviewed. This may cause some workplaces to become, (but not necessarily…) rather homogeneous.

With volunteering, (we said it, but we repeat it!), we are elsewhere: a significant number of people move through the same place and gather around common values rather than typical profiles. It is bursting with diversity and energy! 

This gives rise to unexpected encounters between people of all ages, whose skills, interests and life experiences are completely different. There is rich exchange, often resulting in debates, ideas and initiatives that could not have been developed otherwise.

For example, at La Transformerie, having always stuck our nose on our main issue, we may lack hindsight in the face of certain issues. However, many ideas and suggestions that emerged from these enriching meetings helped us to evolve. Each time they advance our ways of doing and our perspectives in the face of situations that sometimes seemed impossible, but from which an external look reveals new solutions!

Broaden his horizons

Depending on the environment in which we live, the different issues of our society affect us differently. However, they all have their respective layers of complexity to deconstruct and are not always as simple to adjust as they may suggest.

Volunteering allows us to deepen our knowledge of them by diving directly into their hearts. Our understanding sharpens, our vision can even change and then gives us the opportunity to be much more than a witness; we become an actor of change, an informed and conscious spokesperson. 

This is what Amélie, a volunteer with us, says: “[At La Transformerie], I learned a lot about the issue of food waste and met some great people.”  Sonia says the same thing: “Volunteering exposes me to new situations and stimulates my curiosity.”

By realizing the many nuances that constitute such issues, the thousand and one possibilities of action are in turn emerging, individually and collectively.

De fil en aiguille…

Volunteering is all that, and much more. And when you think about it, we all do!

Doing a favor is also volunteering: helping the neighbor who is recovering from an operation, giving respite to a new mom, or watering the flowers of a friend. 

Whether it is large or small, whether it wants to be militant, in the service of an organization or whether it takes place in the daily life of a single individual, it is no less valuable.

Its impacts are not only calculated in numbers, and even less in money lost or saved. 

It will always be useful, necessary and based on a human approach, a caring listening to our environment, and the desire to put our shoulder to the wheel of a more just society : a community.

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Did we make you want to get involved? 

…At La Transformerie: If the issue of food waste challenges you, click here to register as a volunteer.

…For other organizations: You want to discover what issues and projects need your arms, your talents and your motivation?  Click here to see the range of opportunities where you can make a difference!