National Volunteer Week is April 21-27. Diocesan Catholic Charities relies on volunteers, last year 2,150 of them, to fulfill their mission of caring for the needy.
Volunteerism at Catholic Charities is love embodied.
We see it in the people jumping in alongside our trained staff to lend a hand where help is needed. We see it on the faces of the volunteers who bring humanity and heartfelt concern to other human beings in need.
Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical letter, “Deus Caritas Est” (God Is Love) emphasizes the importance of loving our neighbor and expressing Christ’s love through charity in the church. He reminds us that in the church’s “faithful duty of caring for one another,” we also bring a strength of cooperation to charitable organizations in meeting the humanitarian needs of our community.
Last year, Catholic Charities of the Arlington diocese served 27,795 clients through its various ministries, with a staff of 190. We fed hungry neighbors, provided medical and mental health care, offered education, and sheltered formerly homeless men and mothers with children, thanks to the invaluable assistance of an extra 2,150 volunteers. Their presence offered an immense outpouring of love.
Considering this community effort, and in honor of National Volunteer Week April 21-27, we would like to spotlight two of the many individuals in that legion of love.
As a civil law attorney, Samira has spent 23 years building relationships with marginalized individuals and advocating for them in our community. She brings this expertise to Catholic Charities Hogar Immigration Services, Legal by donating her free time as a volunteer. Samira meets with eligible men and women who are applying for their U.S. citizenship at our naturalization workshops.
“Each client comes to me with a different life experience. Being able to talk to them and hear their stories is such a blessing,” Samira said. “To be able to give them information, hope, and a chance to achieve a new opportunity in life makes me extremely happy.”
For Samira volunteering is what connects her to her faith.
“I believe that we have received charity as a spiritual gift because it helps us to cast off the selfish, prideful, jealous and defensive person that can be inside of us. If you are a true lover of Jesus Christ, you need to volunteer,” she said. “By the time that I humble myself before God and pray with all my faith to have Jesus’ courage and wisdom, remembering him as my Savior, he grants me charity. This is the deepest connection that exists between Jesus Christ and us.”
Kat, a mom, and proud spouse of a U.S. Marine, worked for many years in government service. Her husband’s stories of serving in Afghanistan left a lasting impression on her. Consequently, in the spirit of loving her neighbor, Kat chose to bring her knowledge and humanity to Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services where she volunteered as a tutor and mentor for Afghan youths resettling in the U.S. She was matched with a newly settled family with several teenagers.
“Tutoring often involved practicing English and working on math skills, answering questions about why we Americans do some of the things we do and how valuable the freedoms are that we have here in this country,” Kat said. “The family shared with me their Muslim faith and the many traditions rooted in both culture and Islam. I was able to share my rosary and show them our beautiful church, St. Mary’s. They spoke reverently of Mary and Jesus, who are spoken of often in the Quran, and I enjoyed hearing about the prophet and the importance of Ramadan and Eid.
“My experience with this family was so much more than just being a volunteer — it was an opportunity to make a lifelong impact on someone’s life and the answer to many prayers in a way that I could never have expected. I’ve witnessed three high school graduations, and all three are thriving in college.
“I pray every day that others will discover the beauty and reward experienced through volunteerism as it is a means toward sharing the ‘strength of the church’ as Pope Francis has stated,” she said.
Like his predecessor, Pope Francis reminds us that organized charitable works are an expression of loving our neighbors, as Christ loves us.
Beard is director of volunteers for diocesan Catholic Charities.
Find out more
April is National Volunteer Month. To explore volunteer opportunities and service projects at diocesan Catholic Charities go to volunteer.ccda.net.
