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As soon as I returned from the pre-service orientation that AmeriCorps requires volunteers to attend, I was handed a long list of refugee clients and their appointments for being tested in English skills and for being enrolled in school. After a brief moment of confusion, I got to work picking up families, taking them somewhere, waiting, and finally dropping them off. As time passed, I started to get to know each family I met. I listened to their stories and helped their children prepare for school.
When I wasn't running with a family, I was reading books about volunteer recruitment and management. As it turns out, books weren't all that helpful, so I started contacting the churches to set up meetings. When that didn't happen easily (who would have thought!), I started working on the local universities. Then I waited for a response. The next lesson I learned was that not much happens when you sit and wait. So I started helping with apartment set-ups and furniture donations. If I had known at the time of the interview just how much furniture I would move, I might have started exercising more. Once the phone calls started, they never stopped. I had to quickly learn what we had in the warehouse, what we needed for each apartment, who to ask for help (no, I cannot carry a couch on my own) -- and most importantly -- I had to get over my fear of driving oversized vans that were constantly threatening to break down on the side of the road. At least I had a few opportunities to break out my tools from home to help disassemble many beds and dressers that, upon my arrival, weren't ready to go.
As my days started to fill up, I began to figure out more specifically what our volunteer needs were -- strong people who owned trucks so that I wouldn't have to lift another dresser; people who could take clients to appointments and help them fill out paperwork; and mentors to work directly with families, helping them adjust to their new lives. I found many college students and other volunteers eager to help and did my best to get them started in the office. One day while doing an apartment set-up I had just enough volunteers to be able to take a more supervisory role.
I also started going to the Community Board meetings, and quickly became involved with their efforts to put together a Christmas party for our newest arrivals. Trying to coordinate gifts, rides and food for over one hundred people is no easy task, but I like to think we did a great job. Santa even came for a visit! I also helped put together the spring fundraiser dinner, focusing largely on the silent auction. As donations started coming in to be auctioned off, I soon realized all the work that had to go into it, including descriptions, spreadsheets, and thank-you letters. I also like to think we put on a highly successful event that evening, as well.
The part that I cannot stress enough as my year comes to an end and I sit here thinking about all the stories I have floating around in my head is how grateful I am to have had this opportunity. I have learned more than I ever imagined was possible when I first walked through the door in my suit (only to be later traded in for a pair of jeans, a shirt, and some sandals) for my interview with Karen Kurilko. Having had this year to learn more about refugee resettlement in general, along with all the specific needs of our office, I know that I will never fully be able to leave this office. I will always have my stories, the relationships I developed with my coworkers, the new Spanish words I learned from Janet and the knowledge that life is an unpredictable adventure where no matter how much you read and study, you'll never be fully prepared until it's over.
Karen Schomaker is the 2008-2009 AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer in the Hampton Roads office of Refugee and Immigration Services
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