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A
Helping Hand from Three Who Understand
Give
and ye shall receive, the Bible tells us. But does it also
work the other way around? The answer is an enthusiastic
"yes!" for three of Operation Shoestring's most dedicated
volunteers: Linda Manuel, Catherine Johnson, and Jackie
Cannon (shown left to right). These women all engaged Shoestring's
services or programs at some point, and all eventually began
volunteering at the organization that had once given them
a helping hand.
They
assist with a wide variety of Shoestring's operations, from
the food pantry to stuffing envelopes - "pretty much anything
they ask of us," says Jackie. All three are effusive in
their praise of Shoestring's role in the community.
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"I
got involved back in 1999," said Linda, who was recently widowed.
"I had a stroke and had two young children, and they joined the
afterschool program around that time. I started volunteering soon
after that, when I was on my feet. They have so much to offer,
and they really helped me and my family at the time, when I was
down and out."
"A
young lady recommended me to a reading fair for my kids," recalls
Jackie, whose two children have been attending Shoestring's Christian
Children's Fund [CCF] and Project KIDS afterschool and summer
programs since 2000.
"I've
been volunteering for a little over two years, but my daughter
has been coming to CCF and the afterschool program since 2000,"
says Catherine, whose daughter is now ten years old. "My husband
passed away, and Katherine [Crowley] recommended the programs
here for my daughter."
The
three volunteers became especially indispensable in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina last year. They helped process assessment
forms for the families who came into the neighborhood and into
Shoestring's orbit. All three hosted Katrina evacuees from New
Orleans at their homes (Jackie's are still there).
"My
heart really went out to these people," says Linda. "God said,
'I'm sending you a child of mine.' He's got so many ways of testing
your faith.
"This
white man stayed with me, and he told me, 'Linda, I will never
be able to repay you. Every time you cooked for me, I ate your
children's food.' I said, 'Johnny, this is how God wants us: on
one accord.' I don't care if you are black, yellow or white. We've
all got to get on one accord."
The
path from Shoestring participant to volunteer is, for these three,
pretty clear.
"I
tell my children all the time, when someone else is going through
something, put the shoe on the other foot," says Linda. "What
if it was you?"
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