Vendor Writing: Norma B.

Volunteer Spotlight: Marissa Young

By Norma B., Contributor Vendor

Contributor readers, do you know what time it is? You guessed it, time for another Volunteer Spotlight!

Meet Marissa Young, originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, and now a Nashville resident.

Marissa Young with her children Leaf, Alice and Charlie.

She was a regular customer of John Henry, who sells The Contributor in front of Libscomb Academy, as well as Johnny Gentry, who sells the paper at the intersection of Woodmont and Hillsboro. She purchased papers from them for three or four years.

So what prompted her to become a volunteer after all that time? A couple of factors came into play.

Her youngest child started kindergarten, so she called her friend Cathy Jennings who happens to be The Contributor ’s executive director, and asked if she had any space available. (Knowing Cathy as I do, I’m certain she jumped at the chance to bring her friend onboard!)

Marissa has been volunteering at The Contributor for the past two years, working every Wednesday, and filling in for others when she can. She says it is the highlight of her week!

Why does Marissa enjoy spending time at The Contributor? She likes meeting people from all over, and hearing different stories. (Well, believe me when I say, she’s definitely come to the right place for that, we may have all experienced the same thing (homelessness), but the stories of how we got here are as different as night and day!)

More importantly, she loves the mission of The Contributor, which gives each vendor what they need to establish their own micro business!

Perhaps best of all, is the fact that she’s NOT keeping her love of The Contributor to herself — she’s teaching her children to love it too!

She brings the three of them with her when she volunteers in the summer: Leaf, age 14; Alice, age 11; and Charlie, age 8. Like their mother, they enjoy it too!