A retired United Airlines worker has given 500 hours to a Colorado food bank
Bonnie Kirlin of Aurora has volunteered with Food Bank of the Rockies for more than eight years. After retiring, she still comes three or four times a month and packs weekend food bags for kids.
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Retirement did not slow Bonnie Kirlin down, Denver7 reported. For more than eight years she has volunteered at Food Bank of the Rockies, and the hours now add up to more than 500. She started through a partnership between the food bank and United Airlines, where she worked until she retired in May 2025.
She still comes several times a month, sometimes with former coworkers, sometimes with her husband, and sometimes to help cook. She told the station she tries to get there at least three or four times a month, counting the United shift, a shift with her husband, and kitchen duty. On a recent day she packed Totes of Hope, bags of food children take home for the weekend when school meals stop. Chief executive Erin Pulling said volunteers are part of the work itself, not an extra, as more families ask for help before the holidays. Denver7 named Kirlin an Everyday Hero.
For the classroom
Bonnie Kirlin worked at United Airlines, and that is how she started volunteering at Food Bank of the Rockies in Aurora, Colorado. She has been at it for more than eight years and has given more than 500 hours. She retired in May 2025 and still shows up. She comes with her old coworkers, with her husband, and to help in the kitchen, about three or four times a month. On a recent shift she packed Totes of Hope, bags of food children can take home for the weekend when school meals are not there. Denver7 named her an Everyday Hero.
- Why would weekend food matter to a kid who eats breakfast and lunch at school?
- What could you keep doing for other people after you stop going to a job?
- How could a class help pack food without getting in the way of the people who do it every week?
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