I have been volunteering at MUST for a relatively short amount of time. I know of quite a few people that have been volunteering here for years, which says a lot of both the organization and the level of commitment of the volunteers at MUST. I have thoroughly enjoyed my Tuesdays volunteering in the Employment Services department of MUST Ministries – from meeting and assisting clients to getting to know fellow volunteers and staff members. There is a certain aura of warmth that fills the air. Even when I first started volunteering here, I would have never hesitated to ask a question or voice a concern (not that there were any!).
Employment Services is a great resource that MUST offers and I have been blessed to be a part of it even in a miniscule way. A Back to Work class is offered followed by resume writing and job search assistance. Many clients do not have a resume at all and the thought of writing one from scratch can be daunting. Needless to say, it is amazing what tenacity and a little encouragement can produce within a couple of hours! Many days, I would help a client finish his or her resume and they would be well on their way to Cobb Works or another job board to find viable jobs. Employment Services offers many other great ways to improve one-™s standard of working and living, including OSHA classes, ServSafe training and empowerment seminars -" there truly is no limit to the potential of the program and the dedication of staff and volunteers.
When I was first looking in the area for volunteer opportunities, I gravitated towards MUST partly because I was familiar with it (I volunteered here back in college as part of a sociology course) but more so because MUST honors God-™s call to serve. At MUST, I am consistently reminded that it is a blessing to give. I cannot help but think that all I give is my time and attention and what I receive back is tenfold to that. Since I began volunteering at MUST, I have come to learn, understand and hopefully embody the lesson that when we give, serve, encourage, and are simply kind to others, the blessing we receive within ourselves is tantamount to whatever we gave out. When I have helped a client finish their resume and they have put in a couple of hours of job searching online, I can tell that they feel empowered and ready to face the job search challenge. Having a complete resume is monumental; once it is ready, a major hurdle has been overcome and I have come to recognize the look of relief and gladness in faces. Finding a job can be tedious and discouraging at times for anyone, especially if you factor in the reality that some of the men and women that we assist are living in the shelter at MUST and/or facing some critical challenges in their life.
I am humbled and privileged to meet and work next to these individuals. I can now say that I-™ve been on the receiving end of genuine appreciation; it is an awesome feeling and I am often overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude myself. Oftentimes I want to tell them that it is I who is appreciative, it is I who has been the recipient of giving and the pleasure of meeting was mine. God placed me here at MUST for a reason and I am most humbled and grateful to be a part of His great plan.
So you see, MUST has been part of a journey for me. I am moving out of state next month to continue that journey and I could not leave without having told someone, anyone who may read this, that I am thankful to MUST for providing the means to serve and the environment to grow, for both myself and the communities served every day. Apart from college, I had never volunteered anywhere and now it has become an integral part of life. I want my son to grow up knowing what it means to be part of something larger than oneself, what it means to volunteer and serve without expecting anything in return. What he will have to learn for himself is that when you give without expecting a return, more often than not, the return is priceless.