A Volunteer’s Experience

My journey with volunteering at Mutual Ground began in the summer of 2020. I first connected with Mutual Ground to become a victim advocate.  I took the 60 hour certification class via zoom and found an amazing group of advocates. I was able to participate in thought provoking discourse and discussion. With this course, I learned about the mission and the important work that Mutual Ground does in the community. During my training, I knew this was an organization I wanted to be a part of. My daughter Olivia and I, began to have great conversations about what I was learning and the mission of Mutual Ground. She then signed up for the Mutual Ground  Student Advisory Board after showing interest in the organization. 

Due to Covid the victim advocate role was very limited, so I decided to volunteer as an ambassador.  Volunteering during a pandemic has been interesting, as have so many experiences this past year, but Mutual Ground has made it so easy. The precautions and  attention to detail made by Mutual Ground staff have allowed volunteers to be able to continue to serve the community and feel safe while doing it.  My daughter and I have both volunteered in the clothing closet and at the Winter Wonderland Shoppe.  At the Winter Wonderland Shoppe Olivia could not work with clients, but worked to organize donations and create gift bags for the shop.  I love to help in any way, however the best part for me was being able to serve clients and help them with what they needed for the holiday season. I was especially thrilled to help our bilingual clients. Being fluent in Spanish, I loved having conversations with clients about their children and connecting over our children’s interests. I also love being able to volunteer with my daughter and to see her passion for advocacy and activism along with the other teens on the Student Advisory Board. As an educator and a mom, seeing these teens organize and think outside the box to continue their Mutual Ground mission during the pandemic has been awesome. I have been able to support them participating in Zoom yoga and trivia, which were both extraordinary!  One of the greatest parts of volunteering at Mutual Ground is the sense of community and knowing that working together the lives of so many are being touched and uplifted in so many ways. 

Written By:
Carrie
Volunteer at Mutual Ground

If you are interested in volunteering for Mutual Ground visit our Volunteer Page.