The Storehouse of Collin County named longtime volunteer Carol Frye as the 2023 Volunteer of the Year. She was honored by throwing the first pitch at the Frisco RoughRiders game earlier in the season.
“Words upon words would not be adequate to thank Carol Frye for all she has done over the years for The Storehouse and our neighbors,” said Storehouse CEO Candace Winslow. “She has been a loyal, hard-working, behind-the-scenes volunteer for The Storehouse of Collin County from day one, working tirelessly each week entering our neighbors’ information into our database with such attention to detail and love for each of the neighbors. We could not be more grateful for her steadfast dedication. Carol is, indeed, a beloved member of our Storehouse family.”
Frye has been volunteering at The Storehouse since Day 1 and has logged over 4,565 hours handling intake forms and data entry over the last 14 years.
“All of this has been so overwhelming, and I’m so appreciative of this tremendous honor as well as everyone’s enthusiastic support,” said Frye. “The Storehouse was so kind to include my children and grandchildren in the celebration at the ballpark. Fortunately, my son had retrieved his old baseball from the attic and practiced with me a little in advance! The Storehouse is like a second family to me. Anyone there would do anything for you. They are loving, caring, fun, upbeat, and always there for you. It is a joy to serve with this dedicated team.”
Since the pandemic shifted many duties offsite, Frye receives a weekly stack of intake forms at her house, which she spends up to six hours per day typing in the information.
“I think back to almost 15 years ago when The Storehouse first opened, and our intake system consisted of copies of forms with names, addresses and phone numbers that we filed alphabetically in a box,” said Frye. “I still remember that first day we opened, we were all geared up and only one family came! But it didn’t take long until our numbers began to grow. When 50 families came, we wondered how we would do it, and then before we knew it, it was 150. Of course, today our food pantry serves an average of 650 families on just one distribution day! We now have a wonderful team of seven who assist with intake work. I divide the papers into piles, and my fellow volunteers come pick up their portions to input data at their homes.”
Frye learned some of her computer skills in college in Pennsylvania and subsequently doing signal intelligence and coding for the federal government during the Vietnam War.
“The Storehouse is such a feel-good organization that gives my life purpose and sets a good example for my grandchildren,” said Frye. “I honestly get much more out of it than I give.”
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