Rose Cary and her daughter, Sarah, do volunteer work together. Rose Cary was born in Antigo and was raised on a big dairy farm. She graduated from Holy Family Academy in Manitowoc. She was an assistant cook at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay before marrying Charles. They were married for 28 years before his death in 1998. They have 11 children and 30 grandchildren. Sarah, 18, the youngest, will be a senior at Bonduel High School. Rose said that Sarah, who has Down syndrome, has been a blessing to her. They live in the town of Lessor, where they have a huge family garden of 43 rows each 80 feet long. The kids plant, weed and harvest the vegetables, which saves a lot on the food bill. For seven years Rose has volunteered on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at A&A Alexandrina Center in Green Bay. It is a pregnancy crisis center that is Catholic based but welcomes anyone. The center provides free pregnancy tests, diapers once a month, used clothing and have 3D and 4D ultrasound. For 28 years Rose and Sarah have made well over 50,000 rosaries for the missions. They both crochet dish cloths and baby blankets that they give away. They are members of St. Joseph Church in Green Bay. Q How long have you volunteered at the Shawano Area Food Pantry and Resource Center? A “Almost three years,” Rose said. “This is Sarah’s third summer. She helps out when she isn’t in school.” Q How did you get started? A “I had some friends working at a food pantry in Green Bay and they were talking about what a wonderful experience it was,” Rose said. “So I decided to look around closer to home and found SAFPARC. I started in October and when Sarah got out of school for the summer I asked Flo (pantry director) and she said bring her along.” Q What do you do? A “I break down the large quantities of goods into smaller packages to be distributed,” Rose said. “It’s amazing the variety we have. We never know what we’re going to get in the kitchen each day. The people in Shawano County are so generous. I work from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday.” “I fold the bags, plastic and paper, but mostly plastic,” Sarah said. “I’m really good at that.” The bags are the recycled ones that people use to take their food home. Flo also gives her other repetitive jobs. Q Why do you volunteer? A “Because I love Flo,” Sarah said. “She helps me a lot.” “Because I was bored,” Rose said. “I spent the last 40 years raising my family. I knew I needed to fill my day with something constructive. God has blessed our lives so much and we feel we need to show our appreciation by helping others.”
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