Communications Team Blog : 8.2.24
Volunteer Spotlight: Abby from YouthWorks
If you participate in a Tuesday or Thursday work day in the summer, you are likely to volunteer with a group from YouthWorks. These young people come from around the country to volunteer with service partners in Denver, including Extreme Community Makeover. ECM has partnered with Youthworks since 2009 and has had hundreds of volunteers discover the power of community service during their work days, including Abby.
Abby first volunteered with ECM in 2018 on a Youthworks trip with her church from Minnesota. During her time in Denver she volunteered with ECM twice and now she is back as a community service coordinator for YouthWorks. She is also working on an undergraduate degree in nonprofit management, all inspired by her time with ECM when she was just 14 years old.
At first, Abby was not enthusiastic about her two days with ECM, hearing she was going to be working outside.
“I was a little disappointed when they told us we were going to be doing yard work but then I got there and started doing it. You can see the joy in this person’s face when you're helping them out on something that they can’t do alone and it's like a puzzle fitting together. It really honestly shaped my life because since that trip now I want to go into nonprofit management.
Abby returned to Minnesota so inspired by her days with ECM that she even gave a presentation in school about Extreme Community Makeover.
“I did all the research on the mission and all that stuff to share. And I also shared a little bit about my personal experience because I could add it in since I had worked with you guys.”
Now working with YouthWorks Abby gets to help teens from around the country have experiences like hers in Denver.
“I think that the really special thing about YouthWorks is that we bring students from all over here and that hopefully they get impacted the way I did and realize ‘oh wait I can do this at home.’ That’s always our goal and that’s exactly what happened for me, it changed the course of my life, it really put things into perspective for me. It’s just really special that now after so many years I get to come back and that Youthworks still has a partnership with you guys.”
Abby isn’t sure where she will end up after graduation in the spring, but she knows that she is going to continue to help people. “If I could continue something that has to do with coordinating volunteers or definitely working for nonprofits that's something I can’t wait to do in the future.” Her time with ECM defined the way she has lived her life. ”This organization really impacted me. I didn't realize the importance of helping other people with yard work. I didn’t think that was that big of a deal, but it really opened my eyes. My life truly changed here in Denver.”
If you are able to participate in a weekday project this year, be sure to get to know the Youthworks volunteers. Though they are only in Denver for a short period of time, their lives could be forever changed on a work day just like Abby’s. “It's just really special that now after so many years I get to come back and that YouthWorks still has a partnership with you guys, it's just so special. I am super grateful for the partnership that Youthworks has with you guys, and how it's continued and I'm just so lucky that I get to come back and do ECM again.”