Client of the Month – Armando

Meet May’s Client of the Month! We are so proud to highlight this individuals’ accomplishments and hard work.

Armando grew up in the Southeast Los Angeles area, in the city of Bell. He has worked in various places like Metro PCS, and Compton Unified School District as a custodian, but since COVID-19 started, Armando has been unemployed. Wanting to work and make some changes, he started volunteering at Designated Exceptional Services for Independence.

At DESI, began his volunteered at the Food Bank, Extra Helpings Program, giving out food to the community and residents of East Los Angeles. Through South Central Los Angeles Regional Center’s Paid Internship Program, he got the opportunity to intern at DESI’s Food Bank, giving him the opportunity to learn the more intricate parts about running a food bank and learning valuable job skills along the way. These skills were fostered with the help of his work companion and educator, Alvaro. Alvaro has spent much of his time with Armando, guiding him and showing him ways to take inventory, set up food for distribution, and interact with local grocery partners that help stock the DESI Food Bank.

After a couple of months as an intern, Armando was hired due to his hard work, attendance, and leadership skills. He likes helping the community and enjoys guiding new volunteers on tasks in the food bank. He has shared that he likes to interact with the people that come for food and likes that he can use his English and Spanish skills to assist everyone who visits our food bank. In his spare time, Armando likes to watch YouTube reaction videos and loves to eat plates of seafood like Mariscos, sushi, and anything from the ocean. He hopes to save up money to finally buy a reliable car.