Can you describe your community? What do you love about it?

The community I live in is the type of place where you’ll know someone anywhere you go. We might be a small town, but we’re bursting with life and new ideas that are helping change the area we live in to be a better place. I love the scenery in my town, as we’re surrounded by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Even more so, I love how my community comes together to help one another and celebrate our differences as well as our commonalities.

How did you decide to become a Youth Ambassador? What have you learned from the experience so far?

It was really just on a whim that I decided to check Handshake to see if there were any interesting job openings when I saw the Youth Ambassador application. I had been wanting to find a job that was more focused on hands on work that I could do in my community, and I’m blessed to have found this opportunity. I’ve already learned so much so far, from spending hours figuring out excel spreadsheets to being taught how the behind the scenes work goes for programs like our summer feeding program, I feel as though this job has helped prepare me more for my future career more than any other. It’s reignited my passion to help others, and taught me that there are so many opportunities we have to help within the community.

What are the most memorable parts of your experience as a Youth Ambassador?

Being able to get to know the kids we’re serving and spending time with them as been one of my favorite parts of this experience. Sometimes, people just need someone to talk to! There is one boy in particular who was very quiet and reserved the first time we met, but as we’ve been coming back he’s opened up a lot and shared some of his story with us! It’s going to be hard having to say goodbye at the end of the summer, but I know these kids and their stories will stay with me for a long time.

What are some of the challenges you or your organization are facing?

One of the hardest things about this program is just getting the word out! Because of barriers such as access to the internet or a smartphone, not all of the people in our area who need assistance are able to find out about our programs and get the help that they need. Of course, we do our best to spread the word on all types of media, but I feel as though there are people we still haven’t reached.

If you could tell everyone in America something about childhood hunger or summer meals programs, what would you tell them?

I would tell them that childhood hunger isn’t just something that happens in third-world countries, but is right in our very own neighborhood. It’s likely that someone you know, if not yourself, suffered from childhood hunger or have children of their own that suffer. The best thing we can do is donate our time and money when we can, as well as donate resources we don’t use to our local food pantries or related organizations.