May 9, 2024

The members of St. Philip’s Sandwich Brigade don’t make more than 200 sandwiches a week for the recognition. But the group – which has made more than 42,000 sandwiches for Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) in the last 2.5 years alone – has now been honored with two prestigious volunteer awards.

At an awards ceremony Monday, May 6, Sandwich Brigade members Anne Pilgrim, Lori Woodward and Susan Day Moore accepted the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award for Durham County… AND the Key Volunteer of the Year award in the Group/Team category. The awards honor the Sandwich Brigade’s unflagging commitment to providing nutritious food to their neighbors in need.

“Thanks to the support of St. Philip’s Sandwich Brigade, we’re able to provide quality, enjoyable lunches to our community members.” said Viki Baker, Director of Community Engagement at UMD, who nominated the group for the awards. “We distribute bagged lunches every Monday through Friday, and the Sandwich Brigade frequently provides enough sandwiches for two full days!”

The Sandwich Brigade began during the pandemic when parishioner Stephanie Johnson organized members to collect food for UMD. Every Wednesday morning from 10-11 a.m., the “Brigadiers” gather in Susan Day Moore’s driveway, bringing sandwiches, snacks, fruit and water to donate. After an hour of collecting food and socializing, the members say a prayer over the food before driving it to UMD.

More than 100 applications were submitted this year for the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, which recognizes individuals and groups making a significant impact to their communities through volunteer service. The Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center coordinates both awards for the Governor’s office for Durham, Granville, Orange, Person, and Wake counties.

“The Sandwich Brigade started because of Covid,” Lori said. “It continues because we care about our downtown neighbors. This is one tiny way we can help make somebody’s day a little bit better.”

Getting involved is easy, and low-commitment! Call the church office to find out more, or reach out to Lori at lori.jdwoodward@gmail.com.