The Lake Country Food Bank has a community of volunteers that are vital in keeping the doors open.
Claire Schaff is one of nearly 100 volunteers and has been for about nine years.
Executive Director Joy Haxton called Schaff a cornerstone for the organization during a celebration for the volunteer鈥檚 90th birthday.
鈥淗er first job was intake with clients. So, she would sit down with them and help them decide what they wanted in a hamper and do their meal planning. What was really interesting with that is鈥� we started to notice that people weren鈥檛 necessarily taking food, they were just coming to visit with Claire.鈥�
Haxton added that Schaff kept volunteering through the pandemic and would call clients in lockdown to check up on them.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how we started our delivery system,鈥� Haxton said.
The birthday celebration for Schaff was held at the MAC building in Lake Country, next to the food bank. Friends and family gathered for the surprise party on May 1, a day after the mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother turned 90.
Schaff鈥檚 daughter, Irene Wangler, said her mom has always been a volunteer somewhere and eager to help where she can.
鈥淚 call her an angel on earth because she鈥檚 looked after so many people for so many years that she鈥檚 already got her wings.鈥�
Schaff got involved at the food bank after her husband passed.
鈥淚 had a sick husband, so I was the sole caregiver. After he passed away I was lost.鈥�
Looking for community and something to keep her busy, Schaff started at the food bank after it was recommended by the former manager Phyllis MacPherson.
Schaff currently volunteers in the kitchen, helping divide the food items that come in bulk for the hampers. She plans to stay on as a volunteer for as long as the organization will keep her.
Originally from Saskatchewan, Schaff lived in North Vancouver for 17 years before making a home in Lake Country in 1973.
Now widowed, Shaff is a mom of seven, a grandmother to 13, and more great-grandkids than anyone could count.
Happy 90th Birthday!
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