I am RIFA – Tracie Barnard
Meet Tracie Barnard, RIFA’s new Volunteer Coordinator. After faithfully volunteering at RIFA for over a decade, Tracie joined the staff this past October. She sat down earlier this month to share her story with us.
The Barnard family moved to Jackson in 2009 and quickly became involved in a local church. An opportunity arose through the church to volunteer at RIFA, and thanks to homeschooling and fairly flexible work schedules, the Barnards decided to volunteer in the Soup Kitchen as a family. Tracie said, “I was terrified. This was totally out of my comfort zone. I never had done anything like this before. I didn’t know what to expect.” Her sons, Nate and Luke, were eight and five years old at the time, and her younger son needed to stand on a milk crate to be able to see over the serving line.
When RIFA moved to its current location in 2012, her family continued to volunteer as opportunities arose. In the Soup Kitchen, her sons moved from serving bread and dessert to pouring drinks and washing dishes. Later on, Tracie and her sons became involved with the Snack Backpack ministry and spent every Tuesday for the next several years packing weekend meals for school-children. Tracie and the boys were able to build relationships with other volunteers—Nate and Luke even gained a few sets of “adopted grandparents” through serving together. “The relationships that were built in and through packing backpacks are something that we still have today,” she said. “So much of what we do is not just the food; it’s the personal interaction.” After a while, the Barnards also began volunteering on Thursdays to help pack Senior Staples boxes.
In the fall of 2020, Tracie accepted a part-time teaching job at a local homeschool tutorial, but the position was for Tuesdays and Thursdays. While it was a tough decision to no longer volunteer with Snack Backpack and Senior Staples, Tracie’s new schedule allowed her to dive into different areas of RIFA that she hadn’t been involved in before. She got to serve with the Bus Stop Cafe, lead in a variety of roles for Pack the Bus, and serve in many other capacities.
Over time, Tracie has seen how RIFA has grown and changed. She believes that growth is a real testament to the Lord’s faithfulness. “It’s like a ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’ kind of deal,” said Tracie. “God sees what we’re doing, and He sees the needs. We pray specifically and say, ‘Lord, we need more space for this,’ and there it is. He’s in the middle of it. You have to know He’s in the middle of it.”
When asked how she came on staff, Tracie said, “This is just God. Back in March, I found out that a job at RIFA was open, but they had already made an offer.” Fast forward seven months, and Tracie found out that the Volunteer Coordinator position was opening up. After discussing it with her family, she said, “We decided: I’ll fill out the application, put it out there, see what happens. This is the crazy thing: we were at my in-laws’ cabin in the mountains of Virginia, and cell phones rarely ring up there. But my phone rang! I looked at the number and was like, ‘Holy cow, it’s RIFA.’” Tracie came in for an interview on October 18th and started work the next week.
“I’m where I’m meant to be. Tina [Hernandez] is a big part of that belief, too. When my schedule changed and my RIFA time was more limited, she was so welcoming to me—no matter how long it had been, she always said, ‘Welcome back,’ with a smile. The interesting thing is that the last time I came in here as a volunteer, before I was hired, she looked at me, she hugged me, and she said, ‘Welcome home.’ I’ve reminded her of that because this place has always felt like a second home!”
-RIFA-
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