By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Volunteers of all ages and from all walks of life gathered at ECHO in Riverview to do unto others as they would have others do so as well.
It’s the underlying premise of the Emergency Care Help Organization and of the letter carriers nationwide, who every second Saturday in May collect donated bags of nonperishable food to deliver to local food banks and pantries.
That’s what drew Ellen Cipriani to the ECHO Riverview Resource Center on May 11 to help with the sorting of a bounty of food collected in this year’s National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
“I’m a giver because it’s what God has put into my heart and my spirit,” said Cipriani, a Riverview resident. “I just don’t know anything else but to be that way.”
ECHO volunteers Kari Cannon, left, and Peggy Knittel
BrieAnna Hilliker, with her daughter Ambrielle, a Riverview High freshman
That giving a helping hand and paying it forward are values to live by is a no-brainer as well for Savanna Thompson, who as a teenager knew what it means to be in crisis. Today, she is the emergency services director for ECHO centers in both Riverview and Brandon, focused on food and clothing.
“I grew up in a family that would have needed ECHO, so I understand what it means to not have enough food in your house, and I understand what it means to be worried about losing your home,” Thompson said. “I remember at age 15 saying I want to do something for families that are in the same situation that I was. I fell into the role here at ECHO, and I’m so thankful for it.”
Thompson said she’s grateful as well for the tens of thousands of food pounds collected, as the need is great and growing for individuals and families struggling through inflationary times and, most notably, with the double-digit increases in housing costs.
“We’re giving away more than 35,000 pounds of food every single month,” Thompson said, who added that this year’s food drive was on track to surpass last year’s total. “Last year, the drive brought in more than 65,000 pounds of food, which means that everything that comes in today [May 11] will be gone by July or August.”
ECHO volunteer Ellen Cipriani, left, with ECHO board member Christine Staggs
Thompson reported that with more than 28,000 neighbors served as of early May, ECHO will set an annual record for assistance, having served more than 30,000 neighbors by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
That’s what makes the food drive, which drew BrieAnna Hilliker and her daughter, Ambrielle, a freshman and cheerleader at Riverview High, to ECHO on May 11, even more imperative, .
“It’s really nice to see everybody working together as a team to provide for less fortunate people in our community,” Ambrielle Hilliker said. “It’s inspirational, seeing everybody from different backgrounds and jobs working together as one unit to work and give back to others.”
ECHO serves neighbors who are one disease, one accident, one job loss, one rent increase, one crisis away from sustainability. It’s becoming a world where “we all live paycheck to paycheck,” BrieAnna Hilliker said. “Even the airmen at MacDill [Air Force Base], according to the news I read, have food insecurity.”
Hilliker, a licensed clinical social worker, works as a patient navigator in the cancer institute at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa. She helps patients address insecurities, with help to secure and deal with financial resources, transportation, medical emergencies, appointment scheduling, follow-up care and more.
“There’s such a need for housing in our community,” BrieAnna Hilliker said. “We see a lot of multi-generational households, grandparents, parents, kids, kids of kids and friends living together. Nobody has stable housing anymore.”
With its stated goal to bridge the gap between crisis and stability, Hilliker said she refers many of her patients to ECHO.
“They truly do help people, and it’s not just here’s some food, here’s some clothes, now leave,” she added. “It’s also about helping people get back up on their feet. Let’s help you fill out job applications; let’s get you proper business attire; let’s help you make a resume. There’s just so much more that ECHO does because it wants to make people self-sufficient.”
It starts with a givers’s heart, and that was the vibe May 11 at ECHO both in Riverview and Brandon, where Cipriani for years has donated her time, talents and treasures. She volunteers also at the food pantry at her church, Love First Christian Center in Riverview; at ECHO’s annual back-to-school backpack giveaway and Thanksgiving meal delivery drive for the homeless living in hotels as temporary housing; and to Gift of Hope, now under the auspices of ECHO, which aims to ensure families in need have food and toys to give their children for the year-end holidays.
Add to the list Cipriani’s crossing guard duties at Riverview Elementary School, a volunteer position she has held since 2011 that in 2020 earned her recognition as Florida School Crossing Guard of the Year.
LInda Chion Kenney Photos
Steve McKinnon, ECHO’s director of development, with Savanna Thompson, ECHO’s emergency services director
“I always thank God in the morning for waking me up on purpose, because I know that he has a purpose for my life, and it’s not all about me,” Cipriani said. “My purpose is to help others.”
Delving deeper, “If everybody woke up like that it would be such a great world,” Cipriani added. “We wouldn’t have so much negativity in the world. It wouldn’t be where a lot of people are just against each other. There would be much more kindness spread around, and love and compassion.”
For more on ECHO and support and volunteer opportunities, visit www.echofl.org/ or call 813-540-9880.
