Tangeman volunteer efforts in Arizona
Dorothy Tangeman, far left, assists other members of her "Wells Bells" group as they volunteer for "Feed My Starving Children." Their group effort packaged and sent food to those in need in the Philippines. (Photo submitted)
By Caroline Rosacker
Guttenberg's residential go-getters, Dorothy and Robyn Tangeman, head south each winter to their second home located in the northeast corner of Mesa in a 40-acre gated community called The Wells.
This 55-years-and-over manufactured home retirement community offers affordable living where homeowners own the land. This is the Tangemans' 23rd year snow-birding in this community.
Tangeman noted,"We have seen a lot of people come and go — literally. It's another world, with people from many states, Minnesota mostly, than Iowa."
Dorothy and Robyn both keep active during their time away from Guttenberg with a wide variety of sport and social activities. Golfing, walking, bowling, yoga and a morning exercise class create a busy day for these active seniors.
"There is also swim exercise every a.m. which I don't do — it would be like a marathon. I want my time for breakfast, coffee and reading the local paper, the Arizona Republic," said Tangeman.
Dorothy recently was involved as a volunteer with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), a Christian nonprofit group dedicated to providing nutritious meals to children worldwide. Volunteers assisting with this organization hand-package food which is then sent to an extensive network of partner organizations that distribute the food to those in need. One of the organization's permanent sites is in Arizona.
Along with Tangeman, 12 additional women from the Wells Bells women's group in Tangeman's gated community recently participated in this volunteer project.
"We carpooled down to the large building near the Fiesta Mall. There were many volunteers, younger than us women. We were instructed to line up, remove our jewelry, put on a hair net and wash our hands. We were assigned to a table, eight to a setup, and were given instructions on how to bag rice, rice with vitamins, dehydrated veggie mix and soy powder," stated Tangeman.
"I was put at the table responsible for dispersing the soy powder. First in line put the soy powder into a large funnel, emptying it into a small plastic bag. It was then weighed to equal 3.8 ounces by two women, and then passed onto two more women in charge of sealing the bags with a sealing machine and placing 36 bags to a box," said Tangeman.
The food processed during Tangeman's two-hour volunteer service job will be sent to the Philippines.
The extension of Tangeman's helpful hand and heart has now reached out to children worldwide.
