A little about me...
My parents raised me to be an avid traveler. When I was a kid my family and I moved from state to state, and I was used to exploring new places and constantly meeting new people. As I grew up I began to travel outside the States quite frequently. I’m grateful for these foundations because they fueled my interest in learning about different cultures and traditions. More recently I graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas with degrees in History and International Studies. I decided to take a gap year to travel and to help communities in need before settling down. I discovered the VV program from a quick search online, and personal testimonies assured me this was the program for me!
Why Vincentian Volunteers?
All of my life I have been active in volunteer work. During college I became a strong leader in my community and worked in youth groups and homeless shelters. At first I had planned to join the Peace Corps, but I decided I wanted to join a faith-based organization for a year instead. The Vincentian Volunteer program completely fit the type of work I wanted. It gave me the chance to travel, strengthen my faith, and help those in need, all at once!
My Projects
My primary placement, at the Lodging House Mission, is also my favorite. LHM is the largest homeless shelter in Scotland and has a variety of programs for better, healthier living, as well as many interest groups! I have a broad assortment of duties, including stocking shelves, serving food, supervising other volunteers, and socializing with the clients. The clients are absolutely amazing, friendly, and always grateful for our services.
I also work at Cranhill Community Project, which is very different from LHM but also a lot of fun! In the mornings I work in the Café, learning how to cook and clean and getting to know community members. In the afternoon I assist teaching the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class. The students are adult asylum seekers from all over the world. We all learn something new in every class, and have fun doing it!
In between all of this, I work at St. Philip’s Parish. Here, I organize parish events, coordinate a weekly youth group, visit local community groups, and any other task to help make the church run smoothly. As you can tell, there is never a dull moment!
My Highlights So Far
Even though every job is challenging, they are also exciting and fun. My highlight is working with local members of the community and being reminded by them to thank God for all of His little blessings. For example, the clients at the LHM hosted a citywide event for four hundred people, and everyone was involved in some way, including putting on a play. The Music Group was the “orchestra”, the Art & Crafts Group decorated the set, the Women’s Group provided funny monologues, and the Drama Group did the main acting. All of the clients were extremely nervous on the big day. Many of them are very shy and needed a big self-esteem boost. With many encouraging words, though, they made it through without a hitch, and afterwards they were glowing! They told me that they had never felt that they could get through the day, but they had been amazing and they were so proud of themselves. I saw many of the clients transform on stage and gain some much-needed confidence. The joy in their smiles reminds me how a few kind words and encouraging friends can change lives.