Volunteer Spreads Joy this Holiday Season

Dec15

Audelia is well known in Fredicksburg, Texas. She can most likely be found at the community “hall” helping someone out.

It’s what she loves to do. If there’s a need, she will try to help in any way she can, even if it’s just sharing her story with others to inspire them to never give up.

 As a child, her family didn’t always have food; Audelia and her older sister were trafficked and constantly beaten.

“When I get married, my kids are not going to go through this, they’re not going to get beaten. I was 8-years-old and in my mind, all that went in,” Audelia said.

Though Audelia only received a middle-school education, that didn’t stop her from completing a medical assistant program. All she wanted to do was help others. She drove to Austin from Fredicksburg every day for school.

Now she uses her certification to help uninsured and low-income families.

“In this community there’s a need and I’m really just looking for other resources and I spread it out,” Audelia said.

When the Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry began distributing in Fredicksburg, Audelia was there to test families’ blood pressure and sugar levels. That was just the beginning. Now she is the volunteer leader at the site and goes above and beyond to help anyone in need.

With the holidays upon us, families hoped to get a turkey for the holidays. Thanks to Audelia, their wish came true.

Audelia used her connections to raise $5,000 from private donors in Fredicksburg to buy turkeys through the Food Bank for distribution.

The word quickly spread on Facebook and even families in need an hour away made their way to the distribution to stand in line on a very cold Saturday morning. At the end of the distribution, 151 families had received a turkey, fresh produce and canned goods for their holiday meal.

“When the people who I help just thank me, they’re crying and they’re so thankful and it touches me and I feel like God sends them to me…it’s not me, it’s him,” Audelia said. “I’m just a pencil and he’s just writing me where I need to go.”

In addition to the turkeys, Audelia raised enough money to provide 40 heaters and blankets to help families get through the winter. It wasn’t enough for everyone who needed one, but Audelia will once again reach out to her connections to help buy more heaters.

While families waited in line, Audelia also signed up approximately 120 families to receive toys from Toys for Tots.

For the families at the distribution, without Audelia and the Food Bank’s help, the holidays would be challenging. Thank you, Audelia, for your passion to help others and for helping provide Hope for the Holidays to families in need.