Photo provided by: derek red
WHEELING โ When Becky Schilling Rodocker took over as executive director of the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling in 2001, her children were never far away. Her daughter Caitlin, then 11, and son Schilling, then 9, were found working around the building. Caitlin served food to patrons, and Schilling sat next to them, smiling and socializing.
Those early experiences stuck with Caitlin Rodocker, and more than 20 years later, she's still part of the soup kitchen. Now, she wears many other hats around the kitchen, too, as the organization's “Just For Kids” coordinator instead of an elementary school student helping her mother.
Mother and daughter have lived together in a soup kitchen for the past 12 years, and they both think it's a perfect fit. They combine each other's strengths and serve as a shoulder to lean on as we work to feed those most in need in our region.
Schilling Rodocker had just completed graduate school at West Virginia University and earned a master's degree in community health education when then-executive director Althea Burns became ill and suddenly passed away. The Soup Kitchen's board of directors asked Schilling Rodocker to take over the position in 2001.
Her children started by creating fictitious water bills for her, but soon began helping in earnest. Caitlin Rodocker jumped in and helped feed the hungry. She simply followed her mother's lead because she saw her mother helping those who needed her help.
โIt was just my normal thing,โ Rodocker said. “We were coming almost every day. I think probably from the beginning, it was so ingrained in us that we just stepped in and helped.”
Going above and beyond to help others was nothing new for Schilling-Rodocker's family. Her mother, Vivian Schilling, was the “perfect volunteer,” she said.
“I swear, if we were out shopping and someone needed money or needed a ride, they would just look at my mom,” Schilling-Rodocker said. “I grew up never knowing who was going to be in our cars.”
So was her grandfather. She said her grandmother and grandfather had two children, but she always cooked dinner for 10 people because she always had guests over for dinner.
So Schilling-Rodocker said it's no wonder her daughter has the same servant's heart.
“She was always very kind and caring,” Schilling-Rodocker said. “So I wouldn't be surprised if she was drawn to some nonprofit work.”
After earning a degree in psychology from West Liberty University, Rodocker had no intention of taking a full-time job, especially at a soup kitchen, but continued to help her mother throughout her childhood, high school, and college years. He said it became a natural thing for him. fit.
It's equally natural for mother and daughter to work together to keep the soup kitchen running. In addition to providing thousands of meals a year, we also host large summer picnics for families and meet small everyday needs such as bus tokens and hygiene products.
In that work, the two recognized the yin and yang of their working relationship and how Schilling-Rodocker's strengths meshed with Rodocker's strengths. Schilling-Rodocker said her daughter is the more organized and practical of the two. Her title is Just For Kids Coordinator, but she wears multiple hats.
“She analyzes everything,” Schilling-Rodocker said. “She can fix anything. Her handyman got her on the phone and got her to replace the motor on her washing machine. No matter what she takes apart, she can't put it back together.” Masu.”
Schilling-Rodocker likes to do things on the fly, and even if her desk is cluttered, she still has no problem retrieving a letter from the foundation that arrived three years ago.
The pair enjoy the symbiotic relationship they have at the soup kitchen, and admit it has helped them get through some tough times. The job of helping the community isn't always easy. They have seen children who have lost parents to illness and families struggling to make ends meet.
But they also say relying on each other helps them overcome those challenges and better understand success stories. One of the children who came to the soup kitchen grew up and graduated from law school. And you can see the joy on mothers' faces when they are able to sit down and enjoy a hot meal with their children that they didn't have to cook themselves.
What makes them even happier is seeing the next generation of their family learning the importance of helping others. Just as Caitlin and Schilling Rodocker grew up around soup kitchens, so do Caitlin's daughter Nadia and her son Aidan, and Schilling's daughter Avery and son Schilling.
Maybe one of the youngest members of your family feels a calling to work in a soup kitchen when they grow up. Schilling Rodocker and Rodocker tell them it was a great experience.
“I'm very happy,” Schilling-Rodocker said of working with her daughter. “It really does. It relieves a lot of stress.”
“It's interesting,” Rodocker said of working with her mother. “It's fun. I wouldn't change it. I feel like it's more than just working. That's what we're all about. We do pretty much everything together.”