As usual, this summer has seemingly gone by so fast and been filled with so much. This week was definitely a little slower, which was a nice change of pace after a very busy previous week.

I was able to draft and send emails to a handful of nonprofit partners we work with after having full autonomy over which organizations to contact. I am hoping to meet with them to discuss not only volunteering, how it affects and supports their work, and what Besa can do to better support those efforts, but also to learn more about their missions, how these individuals got to where they are today, and what it means to work in these various nonprofit fields across Columbus. I am looking forward to those conversations as a way to wrap up this great summer experience.

I also got the chance to help out at a Homeport location for the first time this summer, packing produce for seniors. I really enjoyed the interactions I had while I was there, not only with the seniors, but also with the other two women volunteering alongside me. One had her master’s degree in social work, which is what I’m currently in school for, and I loved hearing about her journey and career in Columbus. It was encouraging and made me even more excited to begin making a full-time impact next year. The other volunteer has been consistently serving with Besa for years and is incredibly passionate about the work. I appreciated hearing her perspective on what makes Besa unique, stories from past volunteer experiences, suggestions for improvement, ideas for increasing volunteerism in Columbus, and even some of her life experiences. It reminded me once again that there are so many people deeply dedicated to this community and committed to making it better. More than anything, it reaffirmed how much I enjoy serving alongside and learning from the people involved in this work.

A few other projects I worked on this week included preparing the educational component of a volunteer experience I am helping facilitate next week at Cardinal Health, where interns will assemble meal kits. My goal is to introduce them to thinking about volunteering a little differently and encourage a sustained, personal desire to continue volunteering—even if it’s only a few times each year. The data I analyzed this summer told a lot of stories, and one of the biggest was that many of our volunteers, especially those who come through our business partners, only volunteer with us once. Besa already plays such a meaningful role in Columbus, and our numbers demonstrate that. However, if we could inspire even a portion of those volunteers to return just one or two more times each year, the impact could be enormous.

It actually reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point (I recently finished The Revenge of the Tipping Point) and the idea that once something reaches a certain threshold, change can accelerate rapidly. If we reached a point where volunteering became a more regular habit for enough members of our community, who knows the scale of impact that could have? This could easily become an entire blog post on its own, though, so I’ll leave it there.

I also completed quite a bit of administrative work, assisting wherever I could by creating and posting volunteer shifts on our platform.

Lastly, there were several really fun moments outside of my usual work this week, both with my Besa colleagues and with some of the other summer fellows. Besa and the Human Service Chamber (our work neighbors) spent part of Thursday afternoon at Puttshack to take a break, have some fun, and get to know one another in a different setting. It was a great time, and I did my best not to let my competitive spirit get too bruised after performing much worse than I would’ve liked. Golf and putt-putt are definitely not my strongest sports.

That same day, I attended the Franklin County Fair with a few of the other fellows from this summer program, as Elena is completing her fellowship there. It was so much fun and surprisingly comfortable for all of us to spend time together outside of our usual learning sessions and get to know one another in a different environment. I realized we are all much more like-minded than I initially thought, with a lot of overlap in both our personalities and interests.

Experiences like these make me increasingly optimistic about the future of our community. There are so many genuine, thoughtful, and talented people looking to make a difference and lead others in doing the same. At the fair—which I hadn’t been to in years—we enjoyed plenty of fried food, laughed together, and bravely rode a few rides that weren’t too intense. I even went on my first drop tower ride, thanks to Owen’s encouragement.

I look forward to more opportunities to spend time with the other fellows outside of work, and to making the most of these final two weeks at Besa. I can’t believe it’s almost that time.