On The Spot With Linda Gove, Boca Helping Hands executive director

www.bocahelpinghands.org

How long has Boca Helping Hands been assisting local families? The organization began close to 11 years ago as a small soup kitchen that was open three days a week.

How did things evolve? It just made sense to add a food pantry to help people in need on a more consistent basis, and then we began looking at things like job assistance, financial assistance and a range of other services.

How is the job mentoring program going? Fantastic! We have been up and running since April 2 and have already had numerous success stories. We had one gentlemen come in and use the computers to search job sites. He found a posting that was only 53 minutes old, we got his resume in order and sent him over, and he got the job!

How big a role do volunteers play? They are everything. We only have four employees, and our volunteers are the core of our mission, and they sustain the relationships with our families in need.

Read more about this story in the July 8 issue of the Boca Forum.