Volunteer Voices

Some people are planners; they know in advance that service-driven work is something they were built for. They know deep down in their bones that God is calling them toward something that is greater than themselves. (Cue Bridget McCormack).

As I prepared for graduation in my senior year of college, I knew that I needed more time to explore the world and to learn more about myself before jumping into a career or grad school. As much as I wanted to, I knew that I couldn’t commit a long period of time to volunteering, but I knew that I had gifts and a calling to help others that I could not ignore.

I heard the call from God to volunteer at Christian Appalachian Project in the summer of 2008.  My life was not one that was full of risk-taking or adventures; I had a great job that paid well and the economy was beginning to take a major downturn. Nevertheless, I was obedient to God and I followed through with applying to CAP. I gave two weeks notice at my workplace in May of 2009.

Anticipation, nostalgia, anxiety and a bit of panic washed through my mind as I submitted my letter of retirement.  I had fourteen months to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.

This essay was written by Shannon Alford, a long-term volunteer in CAP's Substance Abuse Recovery program.

By Margaret Gabriel

When Debi Moore arrived in Kentucky after applying to become a Christian Appalachian Project volunteer, she had many experiences behind her. Her work experiences and education combined to make her a fine volunteer candidate, but it was life experience that convinced her to follow up on investigating the mission work “that I said I always wanted to do,” Debi said.

Volunteers make a vital contribution to the work of the Christian Appalachian Project, adding newness and a breath of fresh air to programs that have been present in CAP counties for many years. In 2007, a volunteer who came to eastern Kentucky to participate in CAP’s Appalachian WorkFest, a spring break alternative program, began to think beyond her college years.

“WorkFest put some thoughts in my head,” said Kim Rice. “I began to realize how very planned my life was.”

The lore surrounding the early days of the Christian Appalachian Project tell us the first direct mail fund-raising effort was kick-started in the mid-1960s. Volunteers copied names from phone books in northeastern cities and sent letters asking for support for the fledgling program in eastern Kentucky. Maggie Kane firmly believes that story is true. In 1965, she received just such a letter and began supporting the Christian Appalachian Project with regular financial donations. “I don’t know why, but I always had a liking for Appalachia,” Maggie says.

If you say the name “Raúl Rodriguez” to the kids of Jackson and Martin counties you might be met with a blank stare, “Who?” Describe Raúl as tall, with dark hair and eyes and dramatic, expressive eyebrows and you could hear “Rolo!”