It’s 10 a.m. at the River City Food Bank in Arden-Arcade. A line of recipients winds down the side of the building and into the parking lot.
When the doors open 30 minutes later, volunteers, including Nicole Martin and her daughter Phoebe, greet the crowd with friendliness and efficiency.
Nicole and Phoebe pass out shopping carts. They then move inside to join others in handing out food staples, such as canned goods and fresh produce. The mother and daughter are on bread detail.
The Martins volunteer as members of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Charity League, a nonprofit of mothers and daughters who donate their time to philanthropic organizations across the nation.
“It has been a wonderful way to serve our community, have meaningful mother-daughter time, and meet so many other incredible women with a passion for helping others,” says Nicole, who lives in Arden Park with her family.
The Sacramento Chapter supports 25 local charities, including Mustard Seed School, Sacramento SPCA and Women’s Empowerment.
Nicole, 49, and Phoebe, 17, have volunteered with the local charity league since 2020. “We signed up six years ago during the pandemic,” Nicole says. “I said we’re doing this because we need any sort of social get-out-of-the house experience. Even if we are sitting in masks in the park, which was what our first group meeting was.”
Mother and daughter have also given their time to Sacramento Children’s Home, Maryhouse at Loaves & Fishes, Ronald McDonald House and Saint John’s Program for Real Change.
With the American River Parkway Foundation, they join others in picking up trash and debris along the parkway.
“Some of our favorite moments volunteering have been doing the on-water cleanup days,” Nicole says. “And working at the River City Food Bank because we can directly see the people we are there to serve.”
Their volunteer efforts increase between June and August when Nicole, a school librarian, and Phoebe are on summer break. “We try to do a lot in the summer when we have extra time. The school year gets very busy,” Nicole says.
Now a high school senior, Phoebe has one more year with the charity league, which is open to daughters in grades seven through 12. Members can continue by becoming “sustainers,” a network of experienced charity league philanthropists.
The National Charity League “has shown me so many ways to volunteer and be involved in Sacramento and with my community,” Nicole says. “I plan to continue volunteering with several of the philanthropies after Phoebe and I graduate out of the program next spring.”
Nicole adds, “To any mother who is thinking of joining NCL with her daughter, I can’t recommend it enough.”
For information, visit nationalcharityleague.org/chapter/sacramento.
Cathryn Rakich can be reached at cathrynrakich@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
