Mothers Day
One of many traditions often developed in us by our mothers is #service. On this Mothers Day, we acknowledge all who volunteer with us, The Gonzaga Mothers Club is vital to our Hypothermia Transition Program, sharing and serving meals every night.
We recently celebrated our volunteers with a thank you dinner and our amazing volunteer coordinator, Emily Dold, shared these powerful words:
Truth be told, I am always a bit nervous in waiting to meet a new volunteer. While I am a people person, I am also certainly a bit anxious by default. It’s a funny predicament seeing that in every first interaction with all of you, any anxiety easily goes away. Seeing you step through the doors of The Center is a breath of fresh air and I immediately feel sunny with your giving energy. Father McKenna Center volunteers are always the best.
You all bring so much goodness and kindness into The Center and it makes me think about the reasons why you choose to be here. Some of you are retired, in between jobs, or have some free time. But the main reason you all are here is deeper than that. You believe in giving in a way that transcends wanting to give your free time to make a difference. I know this because you not only give of your free time. You make free time and you make space in your hearts to love those you encounter. The fruits of your work and support are why The Center is able to operate.
I am so grateful and blessed to be able to connect with you all and to be alongside you here in your giving of self. I am also looking forward to connecting many of you to get involved deeper in the mission of our Center through the upcoming McKenna Academy…
In FY21, I got to meet 466 different volunteers who collectively gave over 11,600 hours of service. (For those that may be surprised at that number, please know that about 5,000 hours of that service were likely from our full-time volunteers 😉.) Here’s to many more hours, many more moments, many more lives transformed at the Center.
Thank you for being a part of the McKenna Family. We are who we are because of you!
Emily – we are so grateful for your service and for making our volunteer community such a rich one. Thank you!
