Extreme Teams Spotlight : Anja
Anja Oss - Communications Team
What is your story about how you got involved in Extreme Community Makeover?
I did my first volunteer day with Extreme Community Makeover (ECM) when I was 12 and did one day a year throughout college. I always looked forward to the day every summer and when the opportunity presented itself in college, I reached out to Angela about doing an internship for a semester. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun at all of the Work Days that fall. When I finished my internship I wanted to keep volunteering more often, so I became an Extreme Teams member and joined the Communications Team.
Why are you on the Communications Team?
For my undergraduate I studied journalism. I really like talking to people and hearing their stories. I also like sharing information in ways that help as many people understand the information as possible. The Communications Team allows me to hear the stories of the residents and volunteers and share what ECM does.
What are you looking forward to about being the team leader this year?
I am looking forward to unifying the Communications Team and getting a wider variety of stories from the Work Days. I also want to work more closely with the Video Team to collaborate on more people-centered videos to share on our social media.
What is a memorable experience from an ECM Work Day?
Something memorable happens at every Work Day, like meeting residents, playing dumpster Tetris, or meeting the neighborhood goats, but the one memory that really sticks out to me is helping to build a ramp for a resident in Barnum. She had recently become a wheelchair user and had no way to get in or out of her house.
While we were working, her neighbors came by and said they had no idea she was going through this situation. They made a schedule for mowing her lawn, shoveling her snow, getting her groceries, etc. and helped us finish the ramp. She was so thankful. It has been years since this Work Day but every time I am in the Barnum neighborhood, I think about that day.
If you had one sentence to describe what ECM is about, what would you say?
ECM is about helping people connect with helpers to handle the little projects that might be keeping them from being able to tackle the bigger issues of their lives.