Sam McCloud
I started volunteering for the Regional Intervention Program (RIP) at the McNabb Center in May of 2021, and since then I’ve met some of the most amazing people and gained the satisfaction of truly helping my community. I was thankful for the opportunity to begin volunteering here amidst the Covid-19 pandemic when most organizations were not allowing volunteer opportunities. I quickly fell in love with RIP once I met the staff members that ran the program. They were all so welcoming to the program, and allowed me to start helping out at my own pace. Once I became comfortable helping out in the classroom, I quickly gained a new appreciation for RIP. It didn’t take long to see how necessary this program was, and just how much help it can give families who often come in when it’s hardest to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
In my first months volunteering what surprised me most was how much satisfaction I gained out of seeing the parents/guardians quickly learn that there is hope for whatever situation they may be in, and that there are people who care. Seeing the excitement in them when a child makes small improvements in the program is when I realized that this opportunity is really making a positive difference in the community. As my time at McNabb has gone on I’ve learned to see the small improvements that each family takes while they’re with us, and it’s just strengthened my feeling of gratitude to the people who do this on a day to day basis while also feeling humbled that I have such an incredible opportunity to help them carry out their purpose of helping others.
Volunteering for RIP at the McNabb Center is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life, and it’s left me with better friends than I ever could have hoped for as well as an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
