Kim Ducharme, right, of Lisbon picks up food from volunteer Mary Duley at the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach food and clothing pantry in Lisbon Falls. “It’s a good morale-booster when I come in here,” Ducharme said. “It’s like a family and they are here to support me,” she said about the volunteers who run the pantry.

LISBON FALLS — Debbie Hill’s 91-year-old mother, Dorothy, liked going to yard sales. During a day of bargain shopping, Dorothy saw a sign for a clothing bank and went inside to look for a good deal.

The volunteers inside made coffee for her that day and every other time she stopped in.

Hill was so tickled the way the volunteers treated her mother, she became one herself.

“I wanted to give back. It was the right thing to do,” she said.

And that is pretty much how it works at the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach Food Pantry and Clothing Bank in Lisbon Falls.

George Avery shares a similar story.

He was going through a rough spell and trying to make a go of it on $728 a month.

Avery did not like the thought of asking for help, but it came down to eating or not eating. “I had to put my pride in the back pocket,” Avery said.

Avery paid for the food that volunteers handed him with his time.

“I decided that because of what they do for me, I will come and volunteer,” said Avery, who has been helping with LACO for about four months.

“These guys are my buddies now,” Avery said about his volunteer colleagues.

Nine churches of various denominations in the Lisbon, Durham and Bowdoin communities sponsor the LACO Food Pantry and Clothing Bank. 

“It is so unique that so many churches work together,” said Dotty Rice while hanging clothes in the clothing bank at the MTM Community Center in Lisbon Falls.  

Anyone in need can get free clothes, Rice said. Food is given only to people from the Lisbon, Durham and Bowdoin area so LACO does not overlap coverage with towns that are also served by the Good Shepherd Food Bank.

“I never realized how many people are homeless in this area,” said Ulrike Kemberling, who started volunteering soon after retiring from Bath Iron Works. 

“It’s humbling and makes you thankful for what you have,” Kemberling said about spending time at the center. 

The LACO center served 6,500 people in 2016, far more than the 800 people it served when it started in 1985. 

Volunteers also deliver food to about 15 elderly residents, provide meals for children during school vacations and wrap party supplies with a small gift for their Birthday Bag Program. 

“When our regulars don’t show up, we get concerned and go check on them,” Assistant Treasurer Carol Day said.

Day was a fifth-grade teacher at Marion T. Morse Elementary when a heart condition prevented her from continuing to teach. She retired and started to volunteer at LACO soon after. 

The center averages about 600 hours of volunteer time each month. “My grandkids know where to find me,” Hill said.

Kim Ducharme has another name for the center’s volunteers. “They are like a family,” said Ducharme, who comes to LACO to get food for herself and her 5-year-old daughter, Gwennaveve.

“They are here to support me,” Ducharme said. “It’s a good morale-booster when I come in here.”

“To make people who are sad happy is our job,” Hill said.

“We get a lot more out of it than we give,” Day said. 

“My grandkids know where to find me,” Debbie Hill said about the time she has invested helping at the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach food and clothing pantry in Lisbon Falls.

George Avery of Lisbon started volunteering at the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach food and clothing pantry after he received help from the pantry. “I decided to volunteer after what they did for me. These guys are my buddies now.” 

Volunteers involved with nine churches in the Lisbon, Durham and Bowdoin area help at the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach food and clothing pantry in Lisbon Falls. 

Volunteer Ulrike Kemberling fills a bag with food at the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach food and clothing pantry in Lisbon Falls. “I never realized how many people are homeless in this area,” Kemberling said. “It’s humbling and makes you thankful for what you have.” 

Assistant Treasurer Carol Day orders items for the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach food and clothing pantry.

Carol Day, left, and Dottie Rice chat after finishing a day of volunteering at the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach food and clothing pantry at the Marion T. Morse Center in Lisbon Falls.