After four and a half years as a volunteer at Agape House, Mark Gomolski is taking the helm of the nonprofit.

Gomolski replaces longtime director Dave Hughes, who retired in October 2019, and interim director Cathy Putnam. He started on Dec. 1 and will work 30 hours a week in the role.

Agape House serves as Hermiston’s food bank and provides other services for residents in need, including showers for homeless residents and bags of food each weekend for students who depend on their school district for meals on weekdays. It is run by Eastern Oregon Mission, which also runs the shelter for families known as Martha’s House.

Gomolski said the organization has seen a significant increase in need during the pandemic.

“We try to help out as much as we can,” he said.

He said they saw a large spike in people requesting food boxes in the early spring, when the first shutdown sparked the year’s largest round of layoffs. Things got better after the CARES Act was passed and people were able to get extra unemployment insurance money, Gomolski said, but the end of those extra benefits, combined with the end of local harvest jobs for the year, has pushed the number of people seeking services back up.

According to a news release from Eastern Oregon Mission, through November Agape House handed out 9,286 food boxes and more than 11,000 weekend food backpacks for students so far this year.

He said that level of service has been made possible by donations from various local businesses and individuals, including restaurants that donated their excess food during state-mandated closures this year, and fresh produce from local farms.

Gomolski takes over as director after retiring to Hermiston in 2012 from a career in county government in Chicago. Area residents may recognize his name from his position on the Hermiston School Board, or from the times he has run for Hermiston City Council and the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners.

He said his political aspirations are no longer as strong as they used to be, however, and he plans to not run for another term on the school board once his term expires in 2021.

“It’s been a good experience but I think my heart is more here, with this type of work,” he said.

He also volunteers with other organizations in town, including the Knights of Columbus and Rotary Club.

Gomolski isn’t the only new face for Eastern Oregon Mission. In October the board hired Julia Galan as an on-site house manager at Martha’s House, the drug-free transitional housing program that offers shelter to families in need at 305 S.E. Fourth St. in Hermiston.

According to a news release, the program has assisted 18 families so far in 2020 with housing, education, workforce training, mentorship, and “encouragement to assist their transition to a sustainable lifestyle.”

Galan’s full-time job is as a recruiter at the global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, according to the release. She grew up in Hermiston and has a degree in business administration from Linfield University.

“The more I got to know the residents at Martha’s House, the more I saw how much of an impact this program can have,” she said. “For a lot of people, a supportive place to stay is the crucial first step to getting their lives on track.”

Like most nonprofits, Agape House and Martha’s House have faced challenging times in 2020 as the pandemic increases need while making it more difficult to fundraise.

“We’re seeing a growing need for the services Agape House and Martha’s House provide as the effects of COVID-19 spread in our communities. That’s why it’s so exciting to see a leadership team come together to make sure those services continue to grow,” Aloras Winters, president of the Eastern Oregon Mission Board, said in a statement. “We’re so grateful to our volunteers and the community that have always been there to support our mission, and we know we can count on that to continue in 2021.”

One challenge Agape House is facing is the loss of the large box truck it uses to haul donations. Gomolski said it would take an estimated $10,000 to fix the cracked engine block and make other repairs needed to get the truck, which has more than 200,000 miles on it, running again.

Now, volunteers must use smaller pickup trucks instead, which Gomolski said can mean making several trips back and forth with pallets of donations from donors, such as the Walmart Distribution Center or local farms.

“We’re really hard pressed to try and make all of our runs,” he said.

The previous box truck was donated by the East Oregonian. Gomolski said some people have already stepped up with donations toward a new box truck, which with a lift mechanism to help older volunteers be able to load and unload donations will run at about $50,000. He said Two Rivers Correctional Institution had recently donated about $1,500 worth of cans and bottles to be returned, and donating bags of cans is one way people can help.

Cans and bottles or other donations can be dropped off at Agape House at 500 W. Harper Ave. in Hermiston from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Other opportunities to donate to Eastern Oregon Mission can be found at agapehousehermiston.org or by signing up for Amazon Smile and designating Eastern Oregon Mission as the recipient.