On July 20, over 100 of the Union Home Mortgage interns participated in the annual Intern Day of Service. Interns had the opportunity to volunteer, either virtually or in person, to help serve a variety of needs in our community.
Written by: Meghan O’Brien
On July 20, over 100 of Union Home Mortgage’s summer interns participated in the annual Intern Day of Service. Interns had the opportunity to volunteer, either virtually or in person, to help serve a variety of needs in our community. Throughout the course of this day, interns were introduced to the importance of volunteerism and why it is so important to the Union Home Mortgage culture.
During the Day of Service, interns had the opportunity to volunteer with the following organizations:
- Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland – Worked at the Urban Farm to help with general farm maintenance.
- Seeds of Literacy – Helped connect with local organizations to promote Seeds’ adult literacy and GED preparation program.
- Boys Hope Girls Hope – Participated in landscaping efforts around the campus as well as preparing meals for the scholars.
- Cleveland Kids Book Bank – Served at the Book Bank’s warehouse to help sort, label, and package books to be sent to non-profit partners.
- Ohio City Bike Co-Op – Helped de-tire bicycles and sort bicycle shoes as well as provided maintenance on the bicycle test ride track.
- Shoes and Clothes for Kids – Assembled school clothing packages and backpacks with items to be given to children in the local community.
- Medwish – Packaged repurposed medical supplies to be donated to organizations in need.
- Reach Out and Read – Decorated tote bags and bookmarks to be used by Reach Out and Read volunteers when going to medical offices.
- Towards Employment – Crafted motivational cards for TE’s graduates, called clients to help sign them up for orientation, and researched various topics to be included in their resource library.
- Project Helping & Kynd Kits – Assembled kits relating to homelessness, financial literacy, education, and career readiness to be donated to a person in need.
Each intern was able to have a unique volunteer experience in their chosen organization. Lee, Annaleigh, and Ed all shared about their experiences and the impact volunteering had on them:\
Lee Collins, Training - Kynd Kits
“I built the basic literacy kit which was a flashcard exercise for kids working to get better at reading and writing. I spent a vast majority of my time writing out 100 different words on notecards and decorating them with crayon drawings and stickers which was really fun. They gave us stickers of little cupcakes, so I would draw little plates, forks and knives around them. We also decorated a little pouch for them to go in and I kept with the baking theme drawing lots of cooking and baking utensils and writing ‘cook up some magic.’ It definitely took a lot longer than I thought (almost 3 hours haha!), but in the end, it was so rewarding packing it up and putting it in the mailbox knowing it was going to someone who could use those to learn. I chose the literacy kit specifically because I'm an English major and it really touches home to help kids learn something that has been so close to my heart for such a long time.”
Annaleigh Koch, IT Help Desk – Boys & Girls Club Urban Farm
“The Boys and Girls Club offers so much to kids in the community. Whether it's gardening, playing in the gym, reading spots, or places to just chill and hangout after school. Having a safe space to play with friends and be yourself is so important to give to our youth and they are doing just that! Our experience gardening was a hot one for sure, but we definitely saw how rewarding gardening and farm maintenance can be if it can turn into something beautiful! The Urban Farm that they have is so cool and unique and definitely a safe space for anyone.”
Ed Sobczynski, Secondary Marketing – Boys Hope Girls Hope
“After volunteering my time at the Boys Hope Girls Hope organization, I think everyone should go out and help an organization of the community - not because you are required to, but because you will make someone's day. You can help organizations like Boys Hope Girls Hope, who provide and give kids of all ages who may come from an unstable home or may not even have a place to call home, with an opportunity to learn all the life skills you need to succeed. They provide a school-like education and help teach the kids how to build relationships while providing a safe environment. It is like one big family there and they can use all the help they can get to provide the kids with a life they will be proud of when they become adults. Non-profit organizations like this are very special and we need more of them. Not everyone is as fortunate as others and most of the time they have no control of it. That is why I thought my experience was humbling. After you volunteer once you will want to do it again and again.”
A big thank you goes out to all of our interns for making the Intern Day of Service such a memorable day! Additionally, a huge thank you goes to the non-profit organizations that allowed our interns to learn about their organization and the impact they are making in the community. The Union Home Mortgage Foundation is proud to share our culture of volunteerism and giving back with our intern partners.
