{"114281":{"#nid":"114281","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Volunteering Connects Students to Community","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt was during a visit to a homeless shelter that Lisa Thornsberry realized why her volunteer efforts were worthwhile. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI spoke with a man who had become homeless after losing his house and possessions in a fire,\u201d said the fourth-year Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering major. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA few months earlier, Thornsberry\u2019s brother had lost his house in a fire, and she realized that the homeless man could have easily been her brother. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was at that moment that I realized that the people I serve through volunteering aren\u2019t so different from me,\u201d she added. \u201cEveryone has their times of need, and being there for each other during those times is what being a community is all about.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the Office of Community Service, Georgia Tech students engaged in 68,527 community service hours from July 2010 to June 2011. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle spoke with Thornsberry and two other students about their experiences volunteering in the community. Here\u2019s what they shared.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELisa Thornsberry, Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experiences\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a high school student, Thornsberry discovered volunteering through her involvement with National Honor Society and Beta Club. When she arrived at Tech, she wanted to work with children who had developmental disabilities but couldn\u2019t find any organizations that would allow her to do so. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAt the beginning of my second semester, Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experiences (MOVE) allowed me to start a committee to plan service activities I was interested in, and through the organization I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work on a variety of service projects,\u201d said Thornsberry, who is now MOVE\u2019s president. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThornsberry\u2019s volunteer work has also had connections to her coursework while at Tech. She took a Spanish service learning course as a component of her Spanish minor, and as part of the course, met with an elderly Cuban woman for two hours each week. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cShe lived alone, so I would go to keep her company,\u201d Thornsberry said. \u201cMaria expressed to me many times how grateful she was for my company, and spending time with her gave me the opportunity to practice my Spanish skills with a native speaker.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Thornsberry graduates, she\u2019s not sure what kind of volunteer work she\u2019ll take on next. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBut I know that wherever I am, I will find some way to give back,\u201d she added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEthan Speir, English Avenue Youth Enrichment Program\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince high school, Speir, a fourth-year biology major, has been interested in volunteering to work with children. When he arrived at Tech, a friend suggested that he get involved with the English Avenue Youth Enrichment Program (YEP), of which he is now president. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvery Friday, Speir and the other members visit the Bellwood Boys and Girls Club, about two miles away from campus, for two hours. Sometimes they play games such as dodge-ball, while other visits focus on problem- solving activities designed to help teach the 10- to 12-year-olds life skills. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cVolunteering keeps me grounded, because it\u2019s easy to lose focus of what\u2019s going on in the community beyond Tech when you are so immersed in your research and what will happen when you graduate,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I get to Bellwood, I leave everything else going on in life at the door.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen he graduates this summer, Speir intends to put his 12 years or trumpet playing to good use by volunteering for Bugles Across America, an organization that arranges for musicians to play \u201cTaps\u201d at military funerals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETomas Leon, Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experiences\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike Speir, Leon, a fourth-year environmental engineering major, started volunteering as a freshman because a mentor encouraged him to get involved with service in Atlanta. He is now chair of MOVE\u2019s Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Committee. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELeon\u2019s MOVE committee participates in a variety of service projects, including Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, March 4-8. (Click \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7mgmw7o\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for more information about the week\u2019s events.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne cause that has become particularly meaningful to Leon is the work that he does with the Central Night Shelter, serving homeless men.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI love stories and, volunteering here, I\u2019m always hearing life stories,\u201d Leon said. \u201cFor example, I\u2019ve met people who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, and it\u2019s amazing to hear their stories.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELeon and his fellow volunteers work at the shelter most weeks for a 12-hour shift from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. (they create a shift schedule, so no one has to stay awake the entire evening), serving food and taking care of any other tasks the shelter might need.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe challenge with volunteering is that sometimes it can feel like we\u2019re just putting a bandage on these huge social issues, because they are so complex,\u201d Leon said. \u201cI hope that going forward, I might be able to have more influence on the policy side of these problems.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt was during a visit to a homeless shelter that Lisa Thornsberry realized why her volunteer efforts were worthwhile.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"It was during a visit to a homeless shelter that Lisa Thornsberry realized why her volunteer efforts were worthwhile."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-03-05 15:25:54","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:48","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"114251":{"id":"114251","type":"image","title":"Lisa Thornsberry","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894733","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:33","alt":"Lisa Thornsberry","file":{"fid":"194207","name":"lisa_thornsberry_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lisa_thornsberry_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lisa_thornsberry_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":461586,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lisa_thornsberry_2_0.jpg?itok=74CEgX5i"}},"114261":{"id":"114261","type":"image","title":"Ethan Speir","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894733","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:33","alt":"Ethan Speir","file":{"fid":"194208","name":"ethan_baby.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ethan_baby_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ethan_baby_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":67930,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ethan_baby_0.jpeg?itok=U4ufjgHx"}},"114271":{"id":"114271","type":"image","title":"Tomas Leon","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894733","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:33","alt":"Tomas Leon","file":{"fid":"194209","name":"tomas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tomas_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tomas_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":220306,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tomas_0.jpg?itok=RsvQQYOG"}}},"media_ids":["114251","114261","114271"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.service.gatech.edu\/","title":"GT Office of Community Service"},{"url":"http:\/\/move.gatech.edu\/projects\/handh.php","title":"MOVE Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2624","name":"community service"},{"id":"25941","name":"English Avenue Youth Enrichment Program"},{"id":"25971","name":"Ethan Speir"},{"id":"15073","name":"Lisa Thornsberry"},{"id":"25951","name":"Mobilizing Opportunities  For Volunteer Experiences"},{"id":"4210","name":"move"},{"id":"21731","name":"office of community service"},{"id":"166847","name":"students"},{"id":"25961","name":"Tomas Leon"},{"id":"25931","name":"volunteering"},{"id":"25921","name":"YEP"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}