written by: Kadetra Cooper, Fear 2 Freedom COO
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness, We need not wait to see what others do.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Nonprofit organizations continue to face increases in demand, limited resources, and the reduction of staff over the past few years. As a result, volunteers are an impactful resource for sustainability in the nonprofit community. Fear 2 Freedom (F2F) is not a stranger to the challenges faced in the nonprofit sector, which is why we mobilize volunteers and interns throughout the organization on a consistent basis.
F2F provides opportunities within our Programs, Development, and Partnerships & Logistics departments; as well as administrative tasks within our main office and events team. We ended the most recent fiscal year with a little under 1,300 volunteer hours completed by over 170 volunteers serving in various capacities.
The summer of 2023 has been a busy time for the F2F staff, interns, and volunteers. We are a small and mighty team with a big mission to fulfill! In late June, we had Annual Inventory Day, which was a massive undertaking. During this time we partnered with Volunteer Hampton Roads, VolunteerMatch, Serve the City Peninsula, and Youth Volunteer Corps Hampton Roads to secure groups of volunteers for various projects. One of the projects included counting approximately 60,000 inventory items used in our kits of hope and healing given to victims of sexual violence.
I took an opportunity to connect with a Christopher Newport University student volunteer, Mckenzie Hurley, about how she is personally impacted by volunteering and what drew her to F2F. Mckenzie shared,
“volunteering with F2F brings me an immense amount of joy knowing that even helping with the smallest things can make a large impact in survivors' lives. I love being able to give back to my community and a group that has brought so much hope and joy back to people's lives; it is a special feeling being able to walk away from volunteering feeling like you have made a difference. I love volunteering with F2F because the staff has the biggest hearts, works to create positive change in people's lives, and works hard to support survivors. I love being surrounded by that kind of community, which draws me in.”
Speaking with her was a reminder that the work of volunteers has a clear and direct impact on the people and communities being served, but the benefits go far beyond.
You may be asking yourself, why should I volunteer? The answer to that question is different for everyone. Volunteering gives you an avenue to give back to others, fuels your sense of purpose, and is good for building relationships in communities. Hands-on philanthropy is a strength and investment that should not be overlooked. Each of us have unlimited opportunities to leave a meaningful stamp on the world by how we show up.
If you are looking for volunteer or internship opportunities we would love to connect with you! Reach out to us at getinvolved@fear2freedom.org for information.