Volunteers - Kelly
My name is KellyAnn and I was raised in Cherry Hill, NJ. I attended Saint Joseph's University (The Hawk Will Never Die!!) in Philadelphia, PA. I graduated with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Health Care Ethics.
After I graduated I packed up and moved to Key West, Florida. It was something that I always wanted to do, so I did it! I moved there with my best friend, and we had the time of our lives. Our lives were going great; we had our own apartment, real jobs, and we were living in paradise. Then reality hit…well hurricane season hit. Fortunately, the only damage Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma caused to us was no power. We were very fortunate especially in a time when so many people lost not only their homes, but their lives.
Right after Wilma I was offered a job at the local AIDS Service Organization. I was the volunteer coordinator, so I was in charge of everything from staffing our events, setting up a meal calendar, to helping our clients clean up their lives after the storm.
Life was good. But I kept thinking that there was something missing. I always heard about full-time volunteering during college, but at that time I wasn't ready. I needed time away. I began looking at different programs, and I found the CCSC while looking online.
I thought to myself, "This sounds good, but Buffalo?" Well, that is what else everyone said to me. "The beach-bum, sun goddess is going to move to Buffalo?"
Everything happens for a reason though, right? Here I am. I am working at Our Lady of Black Rock Elementary School. I am the Family Ties Coordinator and Health Teacher. The Family Ties Coordinator is in charge of setting up different family programs on such topics as Communication, Financial Management, and Health Topics. It has been fun and the students and staff I work with are wonderful!
The year has just begun but so far, everything has been amazing!