Adventist Health and Rideout Hosts Second Annual Volunteer Rush Week

In 2024, the Yuba-Sutter Food Bank was supported by 2,346 volunteers donating 6,496 hours of time to help feed neighbors in need across their community. As a prominent nonprofit in the area, the food bank relies on volunteers to help them fulfill their mission. That’s why, when a new opportunity to connect with potential volunteers and strengthen community partnerships came along, the food bank eagerly set up shop at Adventist Health and Rideout.

The Yuba-Sutter Food Bank was one of 17 local nonprofit organizations to participate in Adventist Health and Rideout’s second annual Volunteer Rush Week, held June 24-26 at the hospital’s main campus. With nonprofits such as the Salvation Army, Trauma Intervention Program, Blue Zones Project and more in attendance, the event sought to create valuable opportunities for collaboration, engagement and service within our community.

The full list of participating nonprofit organizations is as follows:

• The Salvation Army
• South County Rotary Club
• Yuba-Sutter-Colusa United Way
• Habitat for Humanity
• First 5 Yuba County
• B Xtra
• Alzheimer’s Association
• Hands of Hope
• Yuba Sutter High Wheelers
• Yuba-Sutter Food Bank
• American Red Cross
• Trauma Intervention Program (TIP)
• International Association of Punjabi Women
• Valley Quilt Guild
• Sew Powerful
• Blue Zones Project

Each organization set up booths near the Adventist Health and Rideout Café, greeting associates and visitors alike and sharing information about their mission and purpose. In all, the nonprofits engaged with more than 270 potential new volunteers, an encouraging sign for Carol Ramirez, Adventist Health and Rideout’s Community Engagement Director and the event’s organizer.

“When we bring passionate people and purpose-driven organizations together, amazing things happen,” Ramirez said. “Volunteer Rush Week is about more than filling out applications — it’s about sparking connections that will help impact our area. Seeing so many individuals step up speaks to the compassion that our hospital staff have for our community and the people that call it home.”

For Maria Ball, Executive Director of the Yuba-Sutter Food Bank, the event was a unique opportunity to educate about the food bank’s mission, engage staff and community members in how the nonprofit gives back, and network with other organizations who are aligned in their efforts to serve the community.

“It’s always great to get together and let everyone know the impact that they can directly make through the food bank. You get to build a box of food that goes to needy neighbors, and oftentimes we don’t realize they’re quite literally our neighbors,” Ball said. “Rideout is one of our area’s largest employers, and it’s filled with lots of individuals looking for ways to give back.