When it comes to feeding the hungry, Steve Saville doesn’t hesitate to dish up a plate.
Saville, business development director for The Lumberjack newspaper, has dedicated thousands of hours of volunteer community service over the years, striving to make the community a better place.
As current president of Flagstaff Family Food Center, an organization providing emergency food services, Saville became involved through his six years of serving on the United Way board.
“I was on the allocations committee, where you go out to other agencies and analyze them,” Saville said. “That’s when I kind of fell in love with the food center.”
Saville volunteers 30 to 40 hours each month. He helps with the business side of things as well as serves food twice a month.
“When you see a 6-year-old come in by herself for a meal, you realize how fortunate you are,” Saville said. “There’s not a huge homeless population here in Flagstaff, so we mostly serve the working poor.”
All of the food comes from community partners such as grocery stores, restaurants and Sodexo at NAU, and “it’s not just calories,” says Saville, as each nutritious meal includes a fresh salad, fruit, protein, starches and a dessert. Volunteers also assist more than 600 children per month with reading and homework.
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“Volunteering builds a culture of caring and giving,” Saville said. “It takes everyone out of their self-centered lives and with just a little effort and energy you truly can make a difference in somebody’s life. With my job at NAU, I’m in a position to go out and do that.”
Besides volunteering for Flagstaff Family Food Center, Saville started a special care nursery reunion picnic, offering a chance for any child who spent time in a neonatal unit to say thank-you to doctors.
“We started this as a way to say thank-you for my daughter who was born pre-mature,” Saville said. “The nurses and doctors come back to the picnic each year to see these children as they grow up.”
Saville also has served up many other contributions in the past by volunteering with the YMCA, Theatrikos and the Flagstaff Rotary Club.