08/28/2026
I wish I could add more photos.. 3 years! — today I officially close out my AmeriCorps VISTA; ShareCorps service with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
❤️🤍💙
I didn’t reach this milestones alone; I owe so much to Carrie Dennis, Maureen Allen, Galen Roth, CVA - Amy Salinas and so many other community mentors for believing in me, challenging me, and giving me room to grow. 🌱
In 3 years, I have:
• Tested twice for my Certification in Volunteer Administration — missing it by 2 points, then ☝🏾- testing again in October.
• Volunteered at the Governors Residence.
• Advised “Stand with Service” who advocated for Congress to protect national service funding.
•Learned systems development, capacity building, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and hierarchy of needs through the Furniture Bank.
• Recognized a food-access problem, brought it to GiveBackHack, and built HungerHelper.org
• Promoted the Americorps VISTA program through commercials and grassroots storytelling — gave 3 hand up’s to people facing barriers, helping them step into their own paid VISTA opportunities. 💙
• Joined the Fraklin County Food Concil.
• and so much more
That food-access idea has grown. Hunger Helper has now pitched a Columbus Community Meal Corps — addressing the Sunday dinner gaps while building community capacity for future emergencies and disasters.
Being a VISTA definitely doesn’t pay big bucks 😂, and I almost NEVER take real time off. So these next 3 weeks are for family, community, reflection, and figuring out what comes next.
I’m grateful for the journey. I’m excited for what’s ahead. Stay tuned. 💚
