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El Caldito Soup Kitchen is launching the pilot phase of Operation Giving Apron to strengthen its partnership with local businesses “by providing structured, meaningful volunteer opportunities that help businesses meet their corporate social responsibility and community service requirements while expanding the soup kitchen’s volunteer capacity,” according to the project’s mission.
The new program can benefit local businesses by strengthening employee teamwork and morale, and it can help El Caldito increase and stabilize its corps of regular volunteers, said El Caldito Executive Director Steve Chavira.
Through Operation Giving Apron, local businesses can sign up their employees for full or partial shifts at the soup kitchen, which is open seven days a week and feeds 600-800 people a day. Full shifts are 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Partial shifts are 8-10:30 a.m., 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Volunteer activities include meal preparation, cooking, serving meals, clean-up and assisting with other administrative or operational needs, Chavira said.
Levels of business sponsorship include bronze (monthly volunteer group), silver (quarterly volunteer group), gold (multiple teams volunteer annually and the participating business provides El Caldito donation-drive support) and platinum (all of the above, plus a recognition event).
Each participating business will receive a custom-made Operation Giving Apron that includes the business’s logo alongside El Caldito’s logo.
The soup kitchen will provide participating businesses with “employee engagement toolkits,” Chavira said, to help recruit employee volunteers. El Caldito will create a “Wall of Aprons” at the soup kitchen to recognize participating businesses, and it will present annual giving awards to honor top business partners.
In Operation Giving Apron’s pilot phase, El Caldito will ask several local businesses to participate and provide feedback on the program and how it can be improved, Chavira said. With that input, the soup kitchen can roll out the program to the entire business community in 2026.
Founded in 1984, El Caldito is part of the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope campus, 999 W. Amador Ave. It serves 400-600 people a day and is open every day.
For more information, contact Chavira or El Caldito Business Manager/Volunteer Coordinator Angie Frias at 575-525-3831 and elcalditosoupkitchen.org.
