In 1995, Stacey Brahmey found herself what was for her an unusual situation. After completing a master’s degree while working she had time on her hands – free time that she was determined to use meaningfully.
At the annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, she signed up as a volunteer for Food & Friends through Volunteer Fairfax’s “Change Gang.” (Service opportunities are now accessible through VolunteerNow.) Stacey loved it; she showed up month after month through the years, building community, supporting a vital mission, and showing that long-term service can shape both an organization and a life. By 1997 she was a volunteer team captain, working in the kitchen. Over the years she was reliably there, even as programs changed and schedules shifted. In 2020 – 15 years in! – she moved to working with Food & Friends’ Groceries to Go program. “Food & Friends was my first volunteer project,” Stacey recalls, “I just never stopped going.”
When asked what made her stay engaged for so long, Stacey says that Food & Friends has always been a constant in her life, from before she became a parent until now that her children are grown up. Despite being very busy as a mother, she drove an hour each way to volunteer for two hours every other Saturday. “From a time-management perspective,” she admits, “it didn’t make a lot of sense.” But Stacey loved her fellow regulars and admired Food & Friends’ mission. She formed lasting friendships with staff. She worked with now-retired Chef Tim, for example, for over 20 years. She remembers his amazing chocolate chip cookies, and how he called her children, Nolan and Emma, “the babies” even as teenagers.
For Stacey, the most meaningful part of her service with Food & Friends has been witnessing its growth and evolution over time. “When I started in 1995, the volunteer pool was small enough that they held an annual volunteer appreciation brunch at a downtown Hyatt,” she remembers. “The event always ended with a champagne toast to the day there would be a cure for AIDS.”
Stacey says her volunteerism has had a significant impact on her life and outlook: “No matter how tired or grumpy I am before I begin my drive to Food & Friends, I almost always am energized and in a good mood when I leave. Volunteering has made me a more compassionate person, and allowed me to meet people from across Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia, not just my little corner of Fairfax.”
For those considering volunteering for the first time, Stacey’s advice is simple: follow your interests. “I have always followed chefs and restaurants, and I love to cook. Thanks to Volunteer Fairfax, those “hobbies” brought another amazing nonprofit and a great group of fellow volunteers, who are now friends, into my life”.
As Stacey looks ahead, her hope is both personal and collective. “I hope Food & Friends will remain the beacon of compassion, hope, and nourishment that it has always been,” she says, “and that I can continue to volunteer there for several more decades.”
Stacey’s story highlights how a lifelong commitment to service can evolve over time. While she began volunteering long before joining the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), her continued dedication today reflects RSVP’s core values; experience, reliability, and deep community impact. Through decades of service, Stacey helped strengthen Food & Friends and was inspired by and inspiring those around her, proving that sustained volunteerism leaves a lasting mark on both organizations and lives.
To learn more about Food & Friends and opportunities to support their mission, visit foodandfriends.org/.
To learn more about RSVP-Northern Virginia visit www.volunteerfairfax.org/programs/rsvp-nova/.