Y•I•VOLUN BY TEPHANIE HOPPER
FAMILY & MWR ARMY VOLUNTEER CORPS
NAME: EMILY WILLIAMS Volunteer Opportunity: 1-1 CAV Senior Advisor & President of the Catholic Women of the Chapel What was your first volunteer opportunity? “My first volunteer opportunity was with the Girl Scouts. I made it through to receive the gold award in girl scouting, which got me started on the idea of service. We would participate in service projects as part of obtaining our badges. While volunteering with Girl Scouts, I made sandwiches for soup kitchens and cleared trails. All through high school and college and into graduate school, I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. I helped build four houses; one even in Guatemala. Habitat for Humanity is an organization that meant a lot to me! It was incredible to feel like you were helping someone to see the direct connection to the work you did and how it helped somebody else.” What will you tell someone who is on the fence about serving in the community of volunteering? “The short answer is, you will never regret helping. Last year, during the pandemic, I was teaching my kids full-time, so I was not volunteering much. This year I have a chance to give back, and kids are going to school. I decided to take a little bit of risk and become the President of the Catholic Women of the Chapel. It has a good mission. I am a little nervous, but I believe in their purpose and work, and I want it to succeed. My advice to other people would be, you will never regret helping.” Her “Y • I • VOLUNTEER!” “You know I have been blessed in my life, and I can sit here and be happy in my little space. On the other hand, I could share my time, share my talents and help our community; I think that is important. So volunteering is a way that I can feel useful and help others. I can maybe have an impact on somebody else and help him or her.” page 38
blissNOW
OCT | NOV | DEC
NAME: CPT XAVIER WASHINGTON Volunteer Opportunity: El Paso Children’s Hospital What was your first volunteer opportunity? “My first volunteer opportunity was Operation Hope, an organization that assists with funeral payments. Operation Hope requested Deadpool, a superhero character that I dressed up as, to go to a child’s funeral. It was a little uncomfortable at first, because I do not just show up to a funeral dressed in a Deadpool costume – but I wanted to fulfill that request. At the funeral, they were passing out Easter baskets, and I was high-fiving the kids. Kids were in wheelchairs, you name it, and the news showed up out there. It was one of the best experiences that I have ever had. It was also one of the most humbling experiences, because I realized that it was a celebration of life even though it was a death.” What impact has volunteering had on you? “Volunteering has shown me that it is bigger than I am. Volunteering as Deadpool helping kids with cancer has changed my life; it has made me a better person. It has helped me be more empathetic and sympathetic to people I encounter, because people have different situations they are dealing with, so volunteering helps me be a better me.” His “Y • I • VOLUNTEER!” “I was raised by a family that gives back, and it has been instilled in me. It is more of who I am as a person. It's also a tradition imparted to me by my alma mater, Bethune-Cookman University, which uses the acronym Forget About Me, I Love You to encourage others to give back. I also use this acronym as my command philosophy to encourage and remind Soldiers we are a FAMILY and to encourage them to give back. It is what family is about, always trying to help somebody. I want to be remembered as someone who made an impact by giving back by Forgetting About Me; I Love You — FAMILY” www.bliss.armymwr.com
