Greetings! Growing up in South Dakota, autumn is my favorite season of the year. I was privileged to spend a majority of my autumn traversing the gorgeous lowlands of the Blue Ridge in the Appalachian (Appa-latch-in) Mountains. My main region included Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. With hospitality as one of my personal core values, my hosts and campus contacts surely surpassed my expectations of welcoming me into their homes and lives. Their generosity and kindness really created the space for me to have a sustainable and life-giving trip.
I completed two years of LVC, one in Baltimore, MD and another in Oakland CA, so felt confident in the commission to talk passionately and authentically about LVC with new people. While recruiting, I was honored to be invited into multiple conversations about racism and how I am playing a role in actively dismantling it. Lutheran Volunteer Corps’ commitment to anti-racism has always been a pivotal reason for my involvement in LVC and was definitely reinforcement for honestly and respectfully entering those conversations.
As a testament to our work here at LVC, after a Question & Answer session at Benedict College in Columbia SC, a young woman said with conviction, “Seriously, this is something I want to do!” I heard this across the board from several of the 28 schools and churches I visited including, Clark Atlanta University, Wofford College, North Carolina Central University, and Duke University. We are doing really exciting and innovative work! In less than 5 weeks, I talked about LVC with at least 1,000 people, nearly 400 of which wanted to continue communication with LVC. Thank you so much for you support and participation in the continued growth and work of Lutheran Volunteer Corps!
