Volunteer Spotlight: Cal Mullan

“This experience made me want to get more involved, find more ways to give back and helped further this transition in myself to really reflect on what I care about and what matters to me.” 

  —Cal Mullan

Cal Mullan began volunteering with CHiPS in June 2020. He heard about CHiPS work through the young men’s group at his church, The Oratory Church of St. Boniface, and our former interim-Executive Director, Brother Tom, who personally reached out to Cal and encouraged him to join CHiPS. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Cal was living in the neighborhood throughout the pandemic and working from home. He would pop in for lunch shifts during the week as his schedule allowed, and became one of our most dedicated Saturday volunteers. 

From the times when our kitchen was closed and Brooklyn Relief Kitchen was providing meals in front of CHiPS, Cal was there. Through the winter and into the spring of 2021 when we began our Pop-Up Meal Distribution, Cal was there. He says he’s made many great friendships throughout his time at CHiPS and his time here provided the foundation for a new mindset. Shifting from work in finance to pursuing an education in law, he wants to provide legal services to those in need. “This experience made me want to get more involved, find more ways to give back, and helped further this transformation in myself to really reflect on what I care about and what matters to me.”

Cal knows many guests by name and what their favorite foods are. “There are a lot of the same people coming every week, and they remember me and I remember them. Seeing the familiar faces each week and knowing that it’s the little things that the guests really appreciate; there’s a lot of rapport built up. Like the Australian guy who loves clementines and every time we’d see him we’d go look for some clementines for him. It’s really nice to know who you’re serving and what they like instead of giving out random stuff to random people. CHiPS is a big part of the reason why I’m hesitant to go to law school out of NYC. I’m not ready to leave CHiPS, I really enjoy my time here.”