From the Blog

A newly minted college graduate, Louisa Gould had just one more thing to accomplish before beginning her post-graduate life. She wanted to volunteer. More than 30 years ago, in 1987, her mother Bonnie MacDonald volunteered with Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) after her own graduation. Her mother often reminisced about the families and elderly participants she met while serving at CAP’s Sunshine Center.

“It was very valuable to hear those stories growing up,” Louisa said. Those stories put CAP at the top of her list when she began her nonprofit search. “There were many other organizations doing valuable work, but they were office jobs. It was appealing to be able to immerse myself in the local community and get to know people here,” she elaborated.

Louisa wasn’t daunted by the fact that she had never been to Appalachia and was excited to learn about the region. And so, after graduation, she committed herself to AmeriCorps service in a region of the country sight unseen.

Sherri Barnett, Grateful Threadz and Grateful Bread manager, says that volunteers and AmeriCorps Members make a huge difference. “Volunteers who jump in and work hard make it possible to serve the lines of participants who need our support,” she said. “They are invaluable to us.”

“Coming down here, I knew what service I would be doing, but it didn’t really fully register until I brought food out to my first car,” Louisa said. “Serving in the pantry, you get to experience firsthand why CAP does what it does.”

As carload after carload of participants travel through the pickup line, Louisa could see that many of the participants had been worn down by the pandemic. “It is so powerful to interact with the people we serve, and see the tangible difference we are making in the community,” she recounted.

Louisa has already begun to see the benefits of living with her fellow AmeriCorps Members. “My favorite thing about living in community is feeling like I have a solid support system I can count on if I ever need anything,” she said.

Shared beliefs have helped her housemates quickly form friendships and settle into a place far from home. “I already feel so close to my housemates through the meaningful conversations we’ve had thus far, as well as their mere presence in our common living space whenever I’m home,” she explained.

Louisa and her housemates are compiling a list of local rivers and waterfalls to explore and making plans to visit nearby cities. Louisa is soaking it all in as she gathers her own stories and experiences. She plans to make memories that she will want to share for years to come.

Louisa Gould was a short-term volunteer from the August 2020 Cohort. She was interviewed at the beginning of her term of service.