Volunteer Spotlight: Wayne He
At Kids’ Food Basket, we are grateful to have amazing, talented and dedicated volunteers. We are humbled by the tenacity and compassion of our volunteers, whether they are on our gorgeous 10-acre farm, the energetic Sack Supper floor or in the community. When someone in our volunteer family has a highlight, we are eager to proudly celebrate their win.
Wayne He, a 2022 Forest Hills Northern High School graduate and KFB volunteer, was recently awarded the prestigious Robert B. Chaffee Scholarship. Named in memory of the astronaut and Grand Rapids native, the scholarship is an engineering award given to one Kent County graduating senior annually. Through a combination of strong academics, extracurricular activities and volunteer work, Wayne secured the award over fierce competition. However, long before it was time to apply for scholarships and think about graduation, Wayne had one thing on his mind: pizza.
Early in the school year, Wayne’s school participated in a food drive benefiting Kids’ Food Basket. The stakes were simple: the class that brought in the most food would be awarded a pizza party. Wayne and his friends accepted the challenge and then some, taking group trips to grocery stores and pooling their personal money to contribute countless pounds of crackers to nourish their neighbors and ultimately win the contest. While the reward of pizza was sweet, the connections made were even sweeter. “It was incredible,” Wayne said, “Not only the impact, but also how we became better friends. The relationship, just the experience overall. And I would get to know more of my class, really, because they’d be bringing [food] in and we would all talk about it.”
When looking to volunteer later in the year, Wayne thought of KFB first. “I decided to come here and give it a try with a couple of friends,” he said, “It’s a great work environment over there. It just pulled me in.”
While packing on the Sack Supper floor, Wayne continued to make connections: “I applied to Carnegie Melon, and literally the day after, I met a Carnegie Melon university alumnus here. I had a great talk with him. Also, the other day, I met Max Gibbs, the person on the board responsible for giving me the award.”
In an incredible coincidence, during a volunteer shift packing Sack Suppers in Kent County, Wayne worked at the table next to longtime KFB volunteer and supporter Max Gibbs, who was honored for 50 years of service to the Roger B. Chaffee scholarship at the very ceremony in which Wayne received the award. Smiling and laughing, the pair packed Sack Suppers side-by-side that sunny afternoon while reflecting on their shared connection. “We get about 75 applications and then we sit down and read them all and discuss each one, and then we picked Wayne. One of the things he had on his application was volunteering at Kids’ Food Basket,” said Max, “It’s not just grades, it’s not just test scores. It’s being involved in the community.”
As Wayne prepares to move to Ann Arbor in the fall to attend University of Michigan School of Engineering, what he’s most looking forward to is unsurprising to those who have had to opportunity to know him: the friendships, saying “I really want to make a lot of connections make a lot of friends and have just a great time exploring a new life.”
Congratulations, Wayne, on all that you have accomplished. We’re rooting for your future success!
To connect with your community as a KFB volunteer, click HERE or the red “volunteer login” button at the top of this page.
