Greetings people.  I am Lauren Wishon, the volunteer Volunteer Corrdinator this summer with DurhamCares.  For most of my life I have lived with my family of Mom, Dad, older brother and sister, in North Raleigh.  I went to Broughton High school and when it came time to chose a college I was determined to get out and spread my wings.  Naturally I attended NC State University : )  I was not so happy about that decision at first, although it made sense, but God has challenged me and stretched me right here at home, and I have loved it!  I have grown to love the triangle area and their ain’t no shame in staying close to home (as long as you travel sometimes because the rest of the country…world, is pretty amazing too!)

I just graduated from NCSU in May with a BA in Political Science-International Politics and a minor in Middle Eastern Studies.  Now I know this doesn’t initially make sense considering I am currently a volunteer coordinator for a local Durham organization helping the community here.  And to that I would have to say that focusing on international (especially Middle Eastern) issues during college has helped me understand that while I have a passion to serve the Middle East my community has many of the same issues, struggles, and needs.  I was confused at first too: what would my purpose be in Durham?  Being at DurhamCares and around the amazing people here I have come to love the simple commandment: Love Your Neighbor.  And it isn’t less gratifying, less interesting, or less important to serve the person in your back yard vs. the one over seas.  They are all our neighbors!

I am grateful that I ended up at DurhamCares after seeking a job at a few places.  Heather mentioned that I could volunteer and I thought why not- this place sounds pretty amazing.  Needless to say, I plan on being here as long as possible!  I grow more and more obsessed with what I do here every day.  I work with the volunteer matching program that matches people’s skills, passions, and interests to the communities needs in the form of long-term volunteer opportunities.  That means there are two pieces to my job.  First, I get to communicate with people that are willing and excited about volunteering in the community.  They (you?) fill out the registration online and then we get to talk on the phone and I hear more about them.  Then I go and search for a perfect match for their preferences, availability, passions, talents, etc.  That leads me to the second part: networking with local not for profits to find out, and sometimes help them define, their needs.  Many times they are used to talking about short-term opportunities that they are surprised when we ask: “If you had all the money in the world to hire staff members, what would those jobs look like”.  It is awesome to see a light go off when we say that and suddenly they give an eager description of volunteer opportunities that can strategically help them run and improve the organization!  These jobs are SO varying for the many organizations we have built with relationships thus far.  It has been difficult at times to meet and get to know all these amazing organizations and not be able to help them then and there myself, or find them all the volunteers they need, right away!  So I say all this to hopefully help you blog readers to see that this isn’t your typical volunteering and you have a chance to make a huge difference for your neighbor and see your impact : ) Do it!  Love your neighbor!  Volunteer!

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