Interview with Miss Eileen Volkmer Leaman

Interview with Miss Eileen Volkmer Leaman
By Harella Atwell

Mrs. Atwell:  Can you tell me your name and a little about yourself?
Mrs. Eileen: Sure.  Eileen  Volkmer Leaman.  And I mention Volkmer because I went here to Trinity a long time ago.  I went to Trinity when it was still a convent and a high school.  So I was here for 12 years.  My son went here to school and graduated here in 2005 and it was an excellent stepping stone for him to go to Calvert Hall.  And then to Bucknell.  And is doing extremely well.  So, Trinity is very close and dear to my heart.

Mrs. Atwell:  Can you tell me what the Lenten lunch is and how you first got involved in doing it?
Mrs. Eileen:  I certainly can. In Catonsville, there is a shelter for 120 men who were experiencing homelessness.  The funding that they had for the shelter is not very significant and as a consequence a group called Lazarus Caucus which is a non-profit group has come together to provide food, clothing and support services to the shelter.   One of the things that I do is collect food especially breakfast items and in addition I make lunches.  I do that with a number of high schools, and middle schools, and nursing homes.  We make approximately 120 lunches including a sandwich and snacks. Then I take them to the shelter and the men have them the next day for their lunch.  This supplements their budget.  It enables them to have more funds available for their dinner. So it is very exciting.

Mrs. Atwell:  And you have been doing this for how long?
Miss Eileen: Around 12 years.
Mrs. Atwell:  12 years here at Trinity?
Miss Eileen: Well, no here at Trinity I think it has been 3 years.  Personally, I have made around 16,000 sandwiches in the past.
Mrs. Atwell:  That’s amazing.
Ms. Eileen:  That is a lot of sandwiches.
Mrs. Atwell:  That is amazing. A lot of people fed!
Ms. Eileen:  Well, it takes a lot to feed 120 people 3 meals a day.  It’s a lot!

Mrs. Atwell:  Men, too! Can you please tell me more about what you do as part of the Lenten Lunch at Trinity?
Ms. Eileen: I provide a lot of the paper goods.  I work very closely with Heather Schell who is amazing and Joan Voshell who is also a Trinity mom.  And her son and my son went to Trinity together. I provide cheese.  We do cheese and butter rather than peanut butter and jelly because of the nut allergies. The students then come.  We say prayers. We have one group decorating the bags with wonderful messages and drawings. And the men receive them with heartwarming thoughts and prayers.  And then our students make the sandwiches and I take them to the shelter after we are done.

Mrs. Atwell: If people are interested in volunteering or donating money to support the cause of helping the homeless, how could you direct them?
Ms. Eileen: I would suggest Lazaruscaucus.org.  L-A-Z-A-R-U-S is the non-profit that provides support to the shelter.  They have an online giving process.