I am not just a volunteer, but also an employee with this organization. I do want to make it clear so no one will think I am being dishonest. I love this organization, and I thank God it came into my life. It has helped me to grow not just as a human on this earth, but as a mother, as a wife, a
daughter, and a Christian. I have the opportunity to meet people everyday whom society has decided to sweep under the rug. I talk to them, hold their hands while they cry, help them make sense of some of the chaos in their lives. We pour our hearts and our souls into the people whom God sends to our doorstep. If we didn't, we would be disrespecting God. God made myself and my fellow workers and employees to do this kind of ministry. We have a heart for it. I, personally, try to live and breath in God. If I didn't, I would be right back to where I was 5 years ago, and I don't ever want to look back. Sometimes I fail, and I stumble, but being here helps me pick the pieces right back up and keeep going. I am inspired by our Guests here @ the Path. When I go home, my mind often stays, our guests anguish is my anguish. I am often thinking of things I can come up with to help them, praying to God to give me the knowledge so that He can use me as a tool to help. I believe I have been placed here for the same reason our guests have. I have been here for 4 years. I know every face and every story of every guest who has ever graced our doorstep, even if it is only for one night. Your lives fill my heart, I ache and cry for you, and I rejoice in your happiness. In regards to the earliest comment placed on here, I find it extremely difficult to believe that it was truly placed by a former guest. I am here day in and day out. I know the stories, and I know what occurs here on a daily basis. It appears to me that someone has taken bits and pieces of several Guests stories, and tried to piece it together to make it their own. For the person who actually placed the comment, I am so sorry that you have gone through such pain in your life that you feel the need to personally attack this Mission. I pray for you, and love on you, not just because it is biblical, but because you need it. There is so much anger in your words, even those words that are not yours to tell. We are a voluntary program, our guests are free to leave at any time. For someone to have stayed here for 10 months, they must have felt the love we had to give. And to have found work in Citrus County and become employed in order to have met the requirement to have paid the 20 % program fee? Hallelujah! Yes, God requires the tither to pay the church 10%, and the landlord requires the tenat to pay 33% +. We are neither. We simply require for those (and only those) who have income to pay a 20% program fee. This is to teach our clients to budget and prepare them to reenter society. You see, we do not simply cloth and feed here. We are a full program, our goal is to teach our guests important life skills so that when they leave, they never have to come back. We nurture and guide our guests, everything we have to teach is biblical, but it is completely up to them as to whether or not they want to receive it. Nothing is ever forced, and no one is ever thrown out. We sit with each client at their exit time and come up with placement, transportation (if necessary), and have even paid for temporary housing until a permanent solution comes up. Again, even this is voluntary. If a person chooses not to accept a gift, you cannot force them to take it. I continue to pray for all of those who have been with us, past, present and future. " Give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime. If the man refuses to eat or learn, pray."
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
so many ways. It has been such a blessing to have found God's purpose for me. We rejoice in the small things ( example: a new photo ID, a new pair of shoes, a learned recipe), and we rejoice in the big things ( example: getting a driver's license back, getting a CNA license, keys to new home, getting custody of your kids back). You wouldn't believe how wonderful it is to be surrounded by all this love!
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Make it bigger! I would do so much more! If there were more funds we could expand further in the realms of Emergency and Transistional phasing, helping clients further along, following up with them after they have graduated, oh, there is so much we could do!
More feedback...
Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
What one change could this group make that would improve your volunteer experience?
They are on the right track, keep steady!
Did your volunteer experience have an effect on you? (teaching you a new skill, or introducing new friends, etc.)
More ways that any of us will ever fully know!
How did this volunteer experience make you feel?
Like I am surrounded by the love of God!
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
