While other students study throughout high school and focus on the next test, senior Sophie Ryan is helping the homeless by volunteering at Intown Collaborative Ministries.

ICM is a nonprofit organization that aims to help Atlanta’s homeless population, with its outreach program and its food ministry for people facing food insecurity. Ryan has been volunteering at ICM since her freshman year. She said she is passionate about food insecurity in the community and wanted to take action.

“Atlanta has a very high homeless population, and ICM is a big aid in helping people who are homeless, like giving food,” Ryan said. “I wanted to help with that.”

Ryan, whose title is shepherd, encourages others to volunteer, and she helps with ICM’s delivery program. The delivery program helps seniors who need extra care with tasks, such as receiving groceries. Volunteering has helped Ryan create new connections, while allowing her to discover more about Atlanta.

“As a person, it’s opened my eyes a little bit more,” Ryan said. “Obviously, I knew that Atlanta had a bad homeless population, but I didn’t realize how bad food deserts are and how things like gentrification can have an effect on people. Even if they have a house, they don’t necessarily have enough food or have enough money to spend on food.”

Laura DeGroot has been the director of the food program at ICM for two years. She notices how the organization is always in need of additional support. Ryan has made an impact, especially while working with the grocery delivery program, DeGroot said.

“She helps in that way of making sure that there are some seniors that get groceries that otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to,” DeGroot said.

Nancy Collins has been with ICM as a shepherd for 10 years. As Ryan’s co-shepherd, they help coordinate events and recruit volunteers together. Collins is able to observe the continuous efforts that Ryan has shown while volunteering.

“Sophie never meets a challenge that she’s not willing to take on,” Collins said. “She’s just eager to help, and she’s very smart and always willing to do what it takes. She’s been a great co-shepherd.”

ICM has seen an increase in demand to keep up with their services, as COVID-19 has impacted the community they help supply.

“Especially because of Coronavirus, I think it’s more essential to be doing that [volunteering] and to be helping the people in our city,” Ryan said.

As of 2021, ICM reported that they were able to distribute 283,855 meals, a 370% increase over pre-pandemic levels. There was also a 160% increase in individuals served over pre-pandemic levels at ICM.

“We’ve had to significantly increase volunteers because pre-pandemic we had one day a week that we were open,” DeGroot said. “In the height of the pandemic, we were open to the public three days a week for groceries. That has changed to where we’re open to the public two days a week, but we have volunteer opportunities three different days a week; so, we’ve definitely increased.”

DeGroot has noticed that while ICM tries to keep up with the demands of the community, difficulties with supply chains are impacting work at ICM.

“With the supply chain, it’s hard to make sure that we have the amount of food that we need,” DeGroot said. “That has been difficult because certain things won’t be available all the time — it’s kind of all over the place.”

The lessons Ryan has learned have also influenced her to pursue a similar career path.

“For me personally, I’ve discovered that’s kind of what I want to do career-wise, and that’s what I want to study in college, maybe something to do with nonprofit organizations,” Ryan said.