The YMCA Emma B Howe NE location isn’t your traditional Y. It’s a quiet building that often blends into its residential neighborhood. However, on a cold evening in Northeast Minneapolis, a line starts forming long before the doors open.
People shift in place to stay warm. Hands in pockets. Quiet conversations. A kind of patience that says this isn’t easy — but it’s necessary.
Inside, at the YMCA Youth and Family Services site, Josh Matthys moves about without much fanfare. He lifts boxes, organizes bags, offers a quick smile. Nothing dramatic or performative. Just a consistent presence, providing everything whatever's necessary to those around him.
Asked if the cold temperatures ever discourage him, Josh shrugs and replies, "It's just knowing people need it."
Josh's Story
Josh grew up in the Twin Cities, bouncing between suburbs before eventually settling in Minneapolis. As a kid, the YMCA was part of the rhythm of his life, with swimming lessons and family visits.
“I learned to swim at the Y when I was really young,” he says.
He stayed active through high school and into college, where he swam competitively for a couple of years before choosing to study abroad in London. After college, he made his way back to Minneapolis, not far from where he started.
The Y found its way back into his life, as well, this time as a place to work out, run laps, and swim again. It felt familiar, safe. But then a yearning started to develop inside of him.
Josh wanted to give back to others.
Volunteering, after all, wasn’t new to him. Growing up, his family stayed involved through church with food drives and Habitat for Humanity builds. It wasn’t about recognition. It was just part of his family's life.
So when he returned to it in his early thirties, it felt less like a decision and more like returning to his roots.
It started in the new year, knowing that the YMCA offered volunteer opportunities through signage in the building.
“I just started Googling,” he says. “Found the food distribution thing. It was close to my house, and I could make it work with my schedule.”
That was enough.
What drew him in wasn’t complicated.
“You can’t hate on feeding people,” he says. “It’s a pretty easy thing to get behind.”
Feeding Folks, Feeding his Soul
Once a month, Josh helps volunteer at a food distribution event that the YMCA Youth and Family Services branch has been hosting for the past 5 years. Under the YMCA’s Center for Social Impact, this branch of the Y provides critical support and programming for young people and families facing complex life challenges like housing instability, foster care, exploitation, and the juvenile justice system.
Three hours. Sometimes a little more, depending on the day.
“Nothing too nuts,” Josh says.
But the impact isn’t measured in hours.
It’s in the faces he sees. The small exchanges. The quiet gratitude.
“It’s really nice seeing how grateful people are,” he says. “No one’s going to a food bank if you’re doing well.”
He doesn’t overstate it. Doesn’t try to frame it as something bigger than it is. But he understands what it means to take one burden off someone’s plate, even if it's a fleeting moment.
“Just nice to be able to help alleviate one worry from them.”
That’s enough.
Josh downplays it, but his consistency stands out to others.
“We don’t always get a lot of volunteers who aren’t already connected,” one YMCA leader shared. “So when Josh showed up out of the blue, we were so excited.”
What followed wasn’t a one-time appearance. It was reliability.
“Rain or shine, snow or wind, we’re continuing to show up — and people like Josh are how we’re able to do so," the YMCA leader said.
He doesn’t make a point of talking about the weather. Or the inconvenience.
“I’ve been cold before,” he says. “Hasn’t killed me yet.”
There’s a lightness to how he says it, but underneath is something steady. Something rooted.
Over time, faces become familiar.
Not just the volunteers working alongside him, but the people coming through the line.
There’s conversation now. Small moments of connection.
And something else — harder to name, but easy to feel.
“He makes both our community and our staff feel seen and appreciated,” a Youth and Family Services staff member said. “Volunteering with a smile on his face and a friendly word to all of the households we serve.”
It’s not something Josh would say about himself.
It’s not abstract.
It’s people. It’s families. It’s real.
Currently, through this one effort, roughly 75 households receive food support every month. In 2025, over 850 households were supported at the event and close to 25,000 pounds of food were provided. In 2026, the numbers have continued to rise.
The line will form again next month because the need is still present. Though the weather may get warmer, Josh will still show up and provide the same positivity and consistency.
And he'll do so without any grand speeches or desire for recognition.
And in a place where consistency is everything, that quiet decision — to come back, again and again — means more than he’ll ever say.