Vincentian Volunteers

Why did you become a volunteer and what's it like to be a Vincentian Volunteer at the Bread Church? 

These were the questions we asked Karoline when we wanted to find out why she became a Vincentian Volunteer.  This is what she wrote.

Hello, my name is Karoline Knedgen and I am the Vincentian Volunteer working at the

Bread Church for the 2018-2019 year. I am from Detroit, Michigan, USA and I am a recent

graduate from Michigan State University. I am have a degree in Human Biology with a minor in Health Promotion.

I chose to do a missionary year because I didn’t know what my next step after university

was. What I did know was that I wanted to live a life centred on serving others and I knew the

best way to do that was to do a service year. I chose to volunteer in Britain because I knew I

might never get another chance to live outside of the States again. I heard about Vincentian

Volunteers through the Catholic Volunteer Network, a search engine website for Catholic and

Christian volunteer programs.

My favorite aspect of volunteering at Somewhere Else is that I can see and get to know

people different than myself and start to understand a world outside of my own. The aspect of

volunteering I like the most is doing background work, like setting up the table before everyone arrives or doing the dishes. This allows other volunteers to not worry about the little thing and focus more on other things, like greeting people and helping first timers make bread.

If I invited someone to dinner and told them about Somewhere Else, I would invite my

parents. I would tell them that the Bread Church is Christ-Centered but isn’t a normal church

where they have service and sermons every day. But rather, a place where any and everyone can come to make and break bread together, socialize, and use any or all talents they may have to help others. The people that come to the Bread Church come to be a part of a community greater than themselves.

"Vincentian Volunteers are Christian young people aged 18-35, from all over the world, who commit a year of their lives to the service of vulnerable people. During their year with us, they live in a community of three or four people and engage in voluntary work in partnership with other, well known charity organisations in order to help the impoverished, the homeless, the disabled, refugees and those suffering with addictions within the local community.

We are a Christian organisation with a mission to provide care and support to those in need, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity and gender."  

http://www.vincentianvolunteers.org.uk