Meet another of our wonderful volunteers! Gwen helps to prepare and serve meals and takes care of our “clothing room” – sorting and distributing our clothing donations. We asked Gwen to share the story of how she became involved with community, and what she enjoys about it. This is what she had to say:
“During the spring of 2016, I recall being at Mass one Sunday and watching the Project Advance introduction video that is shown at all the Roman Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Project Advance is the annual fundraising campaign in the Archdiocese, and one of the groups highlighted in the video that year was The Door is Open. I had not previously heard of The Door is Open, but the video I watched that day stuck with me and I became interested in learning more about it. I looked at The Door is Open website and called the office a little while later. I was fortunate to speak with the co-manager, Frances, the day I called, and she provided me with some information about volunteering, suggesting that I might enjoy joining the team on Wednesdays to help prepare the ladies’ lunch. From the first time I came to volunteer, I found a community of caring staff and volunteers with a common purpose of assisting in making the lives of our greater community better.
“During one of my first weeks at The Door is Open, I remember hearing staff members Sr. Chita and Laurence address the people we are fortunate to help as sisters and brothers, and that impressed upon me the caring nature of the culture at The Door is Open that radiates from our managers, Frances and Sr. Chita, and from the rest of the staff and volunteers. It is, I feel, the responsibility of each and every one of us to strive to serve our neighbours and to show love, compassion, and respect to all those we come into contact with, and The Door is Open staff and volunteers do that every day.
“I help out in any way that I can at The Door is Open. For the last couple of years, I have had the privilege of assisting our brothers and sisters get the clothing, shoes, and other items that we are fortunate to receive from our many donors. It has been a blessing to serve at The Door is Open and I look forward to continuing to do so in the future.”
