Volunteering full-time for 9-12 months seems like a lot to ask of someone, and for many reading this story, it may seem impossible. Volunteering for a week with a group seems feasible, maybe even a few weeks in the summer, but a year? “No, a year is a little too much,” you might say. “It’s not for someone like me—I’ll stick with short-term volunteering.” But for several of the 32 long-term volunteers commissioned for full-time service this fall, that short-term, ostensibly one-time experience lit a fire. After witnessing the juxtaposition of severe poverty against the beautiful landscape of Appalachia, after forming a community with participants and fellow volunteers—community that rivaled or surpassed previous relationships—in just a few short days or weeks, and after seeing God work in powerful ways, suddenly long-term volunteering didn’t seem so strange.
When Sara Crombie first learned about Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) as a freshman at Bellarmine University, she was really only interested in WorkFest, CAP’s alternative spring break program for college students. Four years later, she’s now a long-term child advocate volunteer at CAP’s Family Life Abuse Center for domestic violence survivors.
“I did WorkFest for three years in college and LOVED every minute of it,” says Sara. “CAP felt comfortable every time I came and I always wanted to come back and give more time.” As graduation came closer and Sara realized she was being called to post-graduate service, she didn’t limit her search to CAP, but in the end knew Kentucky was the place for her. “I looked at other [programs], but CAP always stood out! The community living and spiritual base and the fact that CAP is a tight-knit family-like community appealed to me.” Sara was joined at September orientation by WorkFest alums Ben Schutté (University of Cincinnati), Kelly Hopkins (Saint Joseph College Of Maine), Bethanie Gentile (Rivier College) and Annie Steele (College of Mount St. Vincent). Marion Barth, 71, volunteered as a cook at YouthFest, CAP’s alternative spring break for high school students, before deciding to return as a long-term volunteer.
Though Annie Steele volunteered at WorkFest , her calling to long-term service really blossomed when she volunteered as a summer camp counselor at CAP’s Camp Andrew Jackson. “It has been my dream to long-term volunteer for CAP since summer 2007 when I first was at Camp AJ!” Annie says. Like many short-term volunteers who come back to serve long-term, Annie felt a desire to make service a way of life rather than a box to check. “I remember thinking [at camp], ‘What I’m doing is fun, but it’s just my summer vacation; the long-term volunteers are REALLY living it.’” Now Annie is really living it as an Elderly Services volunteer. Other former summer camp volunteers now serving long-term include Bethanie Gentile (Camp Shawnee), Tamara Frank (Camp AJ) and Kathleen Frank (Camp AJ). Kathleen Frank, 64, came to Camp AJ after her children Tamara and David served there, and now mother and daughter are both long-term volunteers.
Although CAP welcomed many of our own short-term volunteers back as long-term volunteers last month, many recently commissioned volunteers had incredibly rewarding experiences with other organizations before coming to CAP. Jim Osterlund has been volunteering in New Orleans with United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) since Hurricane Katrina hit. After UMCOR shut down their New Orleans operations, Jim “needed to continue volunteer work,” and found a place in CAP’s Housing program. Jane Walters volunteered with Appalachian Service Project for an alternative college spring break and fell in love with eastern Kentucky. Rachel Taylor served with Episcopal Service Corps in New York before joining CAP to learn more about rural poverty. And Janean Shedd volunteered for a year in St. Louis with Vincentian Service Corps. She chose CAP for her second year of long-term service in part to “learn about the people and culture of Appalachia.”
Fall 2010 orientation was remarkable not only because of the number of experienced volunteers CAP welcomed, but also for the sheer size of the orientation class. With 32 volunteers, this group was the largest in recent memory, and now all have been entrusted to share Christ’s love through their humble service for the next several months to a year. Though long-term service may have seemed impossible for many at first, now CAP just seems like home. Annie Steele agrees.
“CAP stood out to me because of my past short-term experience at Camp AJ—I have searched and searched and have yet to rediscover the validation and acceptance and welcome like I have found with CAP volunteers and employees.”
You can learn more about our long-term volunteers at our Meet Our Volunteers page!
