Volunteering with Purpose: The Order of Malta’s Mission at the Tallinn Food Bank

Since the summer of 2024, shortly after the opening of the Embassy of the Order of Malta in Estonia and the implementation of our Foundation, we have been visiting the Food Bank in Tallinn every week. Our team meets every Wednesday after work at 18:00 EET to dedicate 3-4 hours to help people in difficulties with groceries. They are mainly large families, war refugees, people who have lost their jobs. Our task is to assemble and distribute food parcels donated to the Food Bank. In recent years, Estonia has experienced a sharp rise in prices, making it more difficult for struggling families to afford a varied and healthy diet. Besides, not all children can afford a dessert or a piece of cake even once a week. There are more people in this kind of situation than we can actually imagine.

More than charity

The volunteer team is dynamic and changing. There are several permanent volunteers, who request to participate weekly. But for others, a specific platform has been set up. What are the benefits of a diverse team? It gives people the opportunity to not only do good, but to get to know each other and develop their networks. No matter from which field are you from – an accountant, economist, journalist, designer – you will have an opportunity to build up your future collaborations, friendships and business relationships. The voluntary experience also brings together people from different generations and ethnic backgrounds. It can be really exciting to be in the same group and see a student and a senior, a Mexican and an Estonian joining forces for a common goal and becoming friends. These contacts remain for the rest of the life.

The Order of Malta's greater mission is to become a leading force for volunteering in Estonia. The Food Bank project can be pioneer for this ambition, for this is where our volunteer service here started. Alongside this, our dedication is to commit ourselves to young people. We want young graduates to gain work ethic and useful skills like leadership and event-organising in order to succeed in life. Therefore we give them chance to develop through simple activities like charity and social collaboration. This gives the youngsters strong advantage before the employers when entering the labour market.

Volunteers about the Order of Malta

Paul is one of many volunteers who have repeatedly helped out at the Food Bank. From nine to five, he is working for the last nine years as a sales manager at Admiral Markets, where his days are full of interacting with customers, solving technical problems, trading and investing. In his free time, he likes to spend time with family and enjoys outdoor activities. "Volunteering at the Food Bank gives me a break from the routine. After a few hours of sorting food packs, my head is clear and I look at life with fresh eyes. It's definitely a break from my phone, because I don't look at my phone for 3-4 hours," she says. "I've had a certain interest and awe in volunteering before. I have a very friendly and human impression of the Order of Malta. I can see that people in need are being helped. There was definitely no prejudice when I joined these projects, rather a certain awe." she shares.

Armando is originally from Mexico, but his life's journey has brought him to Estonia and in contact with the Order of Malta. According to his own words: “I knew about the Order for many years, but I never thought I would be part of it. And now that I am in it, I understand more its mission. As Pope Francis said: Our (Catholic) church is not an NGO. And how right he is! That is not what our church is for. Anyone can organise himself alone or with a group of people and start helping those in need, but not everyone, besides helping materially, helps the soul. This is the big difference between an apostolate and volunteering. The Order of Malta gives food, drinks, medical care, time to the sick or elderly, clothes, courses, etc., but it also gives comfort to the souls of the people it serves. It gives hope (one of the three theological virtues) where there is none.”