GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) — In central Ohio, there are hundreds of volunteers providing food to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of those volunteers is 13-year-old MaKenzie Love who is blind. She explained volunteering gives her purpose and keeps her busy.
“There are obstacles along the way, but we can overcome those, and we can’t be stopped,” said Love.
Love’s other volunteer activities also include teaching other kids how to read braille at summer camp. This year, the pandemic prevented her from participating in that activity and from volunteering at an elementary school this spring.
As soon as the stay-at-home order was lifted, Love began searching for opportunities to get out of the house and be part of volunteering again. She found out the Grove City Food Pantry needed help delivering boxes of food to people in need and jumped right in.
She says the people she visits were thankful and it filled her with joy. Love explained that sometimes things get emotional when people realize she is blind and taking her time to help them. Ultimately, she hopes to show that in spite of her blindness, she can overcome anything.
Another volunteer at the pantry, Mark Sigrist, has been inspired by Love’s commitment to volunteering.
“The fact that she’s blind and this doesn’t stop her from wanting to help our community, I just think that’s amazing,” said Sigrist. “She doesn’t see any limits for herself and I think that’s just amazing . . . that teaches us something about those of us that can see. We do see limits or think we see limits.”
Love is one of several volunteers that help the Grove City Food Pantry. Sigrist talked about how he sees all kinds of people giving their time and energy to help others.
“It’s been very interesting to see the different combinations of teams . . . that often show up to help and go together and do something together and contribute this this community,” said Sigrist.
Still, a blind 13-year-old girl has impressed him the most.
“She’s probably done more as a 13-year-old in her life than most of us have done in a lifetime,” said Sigrist. “It’s pretty inspiring and just amazing to be associated with her.”
Sometime after the Fourth of July holiday, the Grove City Food Pantry will be transitioning to a drive-up and pick-up model for distributing the food, which may make it a little more difficult for volunteers like Love to help.
But organizers say there may still be some people that cannot leave their homes and come get food, and there may still be opportunities for Love to spread the kindness in her heart.
