A week in the life of a Good Shepherd Volunteer

This article was originally published in Notes from the Field, a series from the Global Sisters Report.

BLOG | GSR TODAY A week in the life of a Good Shepherd Volunteer Dec 2, 2020 by Celina Kim Chapman MinistrySocial Justice This article appears in the Notes from the Field feature series. View the full series. Celina & Elisabeth c.pngCelina, left, and one of her two Good Shepherd Volunteers community members, Elisabeth, on the subway in New York City where they volunteer. (NCR screenshot/Celina Kim Chapman) Celina, left, and one of her two Good Shepherd Volunteers community members, Elisabeth, on the subway in New York City where they volunteer.

NEW YORK — Thank you for watching this vlog! My name is Celina Kim Chapman. My hometown is Shelton, Connecticut, but I lived in Queens, a borough of New York City, for the past four years before moving from one borough to the next, to Manhattan's Washington Heights. As much as I hope my vlog captured everything about life as a Good Shepherd Volunteer, I want to clarify some questions I may not have answered from the video.

Good Shepherd Volunteers is one of the many service year programs in the United States that is spiritual-based. We have positions in three locations: New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. All of the New York City volunteers work for the nonprofit Good Shepherd Services, which has over 80 programs that help women and children in need.

My position is the anti-racism and equity fellow. I am not doing direct service by going into schools or working at a homeless shelter, but I am doing indirect service by working in the support sector of Good Shepherd Services. Becoming trained in this field of diversity, equity and inclusion/anti-racism and multicultural work is especially important now because of our current political climate. I am learning how to help an organization to become anti-racist and multicultural.

I hope this first vlog and blog post provide a foundation for you to continue following my journey as a Good Shepherd Volunteer.