Hello Catholic Charities of Baltimore!

It’s been a while, but I’m back! You’re stuck with me for another year as one of the Project SERVE year-long volunteers. I’m glad to have the opportunity for another year of service at Villa Maria and I’m looking forward to getting back in the swing of things at the school.

There’s a whole new crew of Project SERVE volunteers, so be on the lookout for them at Our Daily Bread Employment Center, Weinberg Housing and Resource Center, and My Sister’s Place Women’s Center. I’m sure if you see any of them, you’ll make them feel right at home and welcome. Our group is full of passion for service and we look forward to this year. As a returning volunteer, the echoes of last year’s Project SERVE members are everywhere as many of the employees have started referring to the new members as “here’s the new Corey!” or “here’s the new Daisy” or “here’s the new Giovanna,” but at the same time they’re exceedingly excited to have the new Project SERVE volunteers. And this year’s group seems to be (dare I say it?!?) just as good as last year’s! Look for their individual biographies in the next couple weeks on this Project SERVE blog!

September 8th is our official first day of work, but the four of us have been together for roughly a week before that and, along with our coordinator Allison Stone, we’ve been exploring the tenets of intentional community, service, sustainability, and social outreach and change. We ended our orientation week with the great outdoors at Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center, where we participated in community-building activities on their challenging course, including a high-ropes challenge.

On Labor Day, we volunteered at Our Daily Bread Employment Center during lunch, and it was a wonderful experience. I was able to see some people I had volunteered there before with and to reconnect with them, as well as meet new people. For the others, it was their first experience in the trenches, so to speak, as a Project SERVE volunteer, and it was very positive. I can already tell it will be a superb year for Project SERVE and Catholic Charities as a whole.

So God bless, and continue to look for the divine in every person, because everyone deserves to reach their God-given potential.

Michael Carr

Project SERVE Villa Maria