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Giving Back in Durham

Colleagues around Duke volunteer together as teams in the community

Geoffrey Mock, of 老牛影视 Communications, serves spaghetti to guests at Urban Ministries on Jan. 13. Photo by Jonathan Black.
Geoffrey Mock, of 老牛影视 Communications, serves spaghetti to guests at Urban Ministries on Jan. 13. Photo by Jonathan Black.

As he mixes a pot of tomato sauce and steaming spaghetti, Geoffrey Mock looks through his fogged eyeglasses at a clock above the entrance of the kitchen in Urban Ministries of Durham.  

鈥淲e鈥檝e got thirty minutes until service,鈥 he tells nine volunteers from Duke as they remove vegetables from a steamer, slice pieces of key lime pie and brew tea in the kitchen. 

Lunch on this Sunday begins promptly at 12:30 p.m. for about 155 guests at . On this day, they鈥檒l eat a meal of spaghetti, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, rolls, and key lime pie 鈥 all prepared by a group organized by Mock on the second Sunday of every month at Urban Ministries.

Karl Bates, left, and Geoffrey Mock add spaghetti sauce to the pasta in the Urban Ministries kitchen. The volunteers buy the ingredients and prepare and serve an entr茅e, vegetable, fruit and dessert for the Sunday lunch. This team of communicators is among the roughly 30 percent of adults who volunteer annually in the United States, according to research in 2018 by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages Americans with volunteering opportunities.  

鈥淎ll of the volunteers get a chance to enjoy one another鈥檚 company outside of work,鈥 Mock said. 鈥淭his passion for civic engagement creates a special bond.鈥 

Mock began volunteering at Urban Ministries in 2008 when University Communications chose to serve dinner there rather than have a staff holiday party. He enjoyed the experience so much that he began enlisting other communicators to volunteer with him every month. 

Here are other Duke teams serving the community. 

Donating school supplies

Latoya Patterson, an obstetrician and gynecologist for Duke Obstetrics & Gynecology, organized a book drive in 2018. Photo courtesy of Latoya Patterson.
Growing up in the Raleigh suburb of Knightdale, Latoya Patterson, MD, remembers seeing her elementary school classmates carry torn up bookbags and struggle somedays to pay for lunch.  

Those memories inspired Patterson, an obstetrician and gynecologist for Duke Obstetrics & Gynecology, to organize a bookbag drive in 2018 when  Duke OB/GYN students and employees donated 30 backpacks, crayons, pencils and notebooks to the . 

鈥淏eing an OB/GYN, I鈥檓 taking care of people the moment they come into this world,鈥 Patterson said. 鈥淭hat shouldn鈥檛 stop after they leave the hospital. We should stay connected to the community we鈥檙e working in.鈥

Staying in touch with the community is a big reason Matthew Barber, MD, harvested sweet potatoes for the Society of St. Andrew, a hunger relief nonprofit, in 2017. Barber, the E.C. Hamblen Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chair of Duke OB/GYN said it helped him feel connected to North Carolina after moving from Ohio in 2017. 

鈥淒uke signifies not only excellence in medicine but a commitment to caring for the region,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice when we can get our hands a little dirty to help our neighbors.鈥

Delivering a hot meal 

Stan Paskoff, manager of desktop support services in Sanford's IT department returns to Meals on Wheels after a lunchtime shift. Photo courtesy of Adam Beyer.
When Anna White started at the Sanford School of Public Policy in 2014, she had 20 years of experience working and volunteering with nonprofits in New York City. 

With a desire to continue donating her time to people in need, White reached out to colleagues at Duke to find volunteer opportunities. She quickly learned Sanford was in need of someone to oversee volunteer efforts with Meals on Wheels of Durham. Sanford School employees began volunteering with 20 years ago.

White took a shift delivering food to senior citizens, people with disabilities and others who are unable to provide proper nutrition for themselves. 

鈥淭hese people don鈥檛 have anyone else to care or look after them,鈥 said White, now the meeting and events coordinator for the Duke World Food Policy Center in the Sanford School of Public Policy. 鈥淚t just moved my heart to keep the program going.鈥

White now ensures there are enough volunteers from Sanford to deliver meals to about 15 people each shift. 

鈥淪ometimes we鈥檙e the only people the Meals on Wheels recipients will see until Monday,鈥 White said. 鈥淲e can bring them a warm meal and smile. It makes you realize that we can spend a few hours to help people in our community.鈥

Want to volunteer?

The Duke Office of Durham & Regional Affairs keeps an updated listing of volunteer opportunities sorted by category, frequency and location. Check it out . 

Volunteer opportunities can also be found at the Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center . The center works with about 1,000 agencies in the region. 

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