Volunteer Spotlight: Eileen McKeon
Over 500 Hours of Service to Pete’s Garden since 2020 - and Counting!
Eileen McKeon’s love for children extends far beyond those in her own family. Beginning in March 2020, Eileen has given more than 500 hours to Pete’s Garden! Every Thursday, we see her smiling face portioning and packing meals for children.
Helping “families means helping children, and children are my thing”
In late March of 2020, Eileen became one of the very first volunteers at Pete’s Garden. Before the Covid-19 pandemic closed down activity at Operation Breakthrough, Eileen spent one day each week taking care of “her babies” in the Orange One classroom and another day volunteering in the food pantry. With inconsistent food donations, volunteers helped from 9am-1pm when needed, so Eileen and her friend Joanne transitioned to that role.
When asked why she volunteers at Pete’s Garden, Eileen said,
“Look at the people I volunteer with..winks from God to be among that.”
Eileen developed a quick, close and joyful friendship with fellow volunteer Judy Miller, who is dearly missed.
Eileen’s favorite food to pack is the baked ham that we receive every Thursday (and rarely any other day). If Eileen is absent from her favorite space in our kitchen, we often photograph the friend who portions the ham that day and then tease Eileen about missing her favorite food.
A fun fact that people don’t know about Eileen is that she is still not fully retired, working at Browne’s Irish Market. An active member of The Ladies of Hibernia, Eileen supports all things Irish American.
We are very grateful that she supports all things Pete’s Garden, too!
