RICK CLINE

Meet our longtime volunteer Rick Cline. He’s been helping out at the Lord’s Diner just two months after we opened our doors in 2002. “I just walked in here one day on my own, I called and found out what I needed to do and have been doing it ever since,” he said.

Over 17 years later, Cline is still committed to coming and volunteering at the Diner at least once every month.Cline says many of the Diner’s guests have touched his heart and surprised him throughout the years. 

Some people might have a preconceived notion about the kinds of people that are homeless, but Cline said through his experience, he’s seen people come from unexpected circumstances. “Over the years of working… I’ve met people who are on the streets who have PhD’s, families to support, they may even work and just don’t make enough,” he said. “There are people on the streets who’d surprise a lot of folks.”

One piece of advice Cline says he has for anyone who might consider volunteering at the Diner, is that the more you give, the more you get out of the experience.“It’s not really just what you can do for the Lord’s Diner,” he said. “It’s what the experience can do for you.”

MICHELLE POORE

Michelle Poore has been volunteering for two years at Lord’s Diner, where she comes to volunteer at least once a month. “I just thought it would be something to do for those less fortunate,” Poore said. “It is a very rewarding experience.”

She said even in the just two years she’s been serving, she has formed meaningful relationships with the volunteers, and even a few of the guests. “You know, I met with some of the guests. You get familiar with some of the customers and there’s some you definitely get to remember and it’s nice.”

Poore said she knew about the Lord’s Diner for years before finally deciding to volunteer. One day she said she noticed they were offering the food handlers class at her church, and that was when she knew it was finally time to start volunteering.

“I thought about doing it for several years,” Poore said. “I was like if it was meant to be, you gotta do it, so I took class.”

Poore continues to come every month and says regardless of the task she’s assigned, she’s always more than happy to help out. “Even if I ended up rolling silverware or stacking tables, it is still a good service,” Poore said. “Everyone should try it.”