November Volunteer Spotlight: Sister Smalley and Sister Barton
What motivates you all to volunteer? As missionaries for our church we are here to serve people, and community service is a big part of what we do. We love having the opportunity to brighten peoples' day and help in any way!Why ACR? We like volunteering at ACR because we meet so many people, each with a unique background and story. We love the people we volunteer with and the people we volunteer for! We also think ACR is one of the funnest places you could be in Austin, and it makes us happy to be there and to see what kinds of crazy things we find.How long have you volunteered with ACR? Sister Smalley has volunteered with ACR for about three months and Sister Barton has been here for about one month, but missionaries for our church have been volunteering with ACR for about a year.Are you more into the arts aspect of ACR or the conservation aspect and why? We love the arts aspect! It's so fun to see the amazing creative ideas people have and the things they are able to create, and we also love finding and buying our own treasures. The conservation aspect is really great too; we love seeing people being conscientious of the earth and its resources. We love that ACR is a mixture of both of these things.Where else have you/do you volunteer? We volunteer all over the place as missionaries, but some of the fun places we have served are the San Antonio Food Bank, the Central Texas Food Bank, various assisted living/nursing homes, humane societies, Community First Village, and anyone that we meet that needs help with anything (we do a lot of yard work, helping people move and dishes)!What do you enjoy the most out of volunteering for ACR? Our favorite part of volunteering for ACR is meeting different people and learning their stories. We love that everyone is so different and unique, and it makes us happy when we can help other people be happy!Do you have any interesting or funny stories about something that happened while you were volunteering at ACR? Sister Smalley: One time I was sorting through photographs, and there were dozens of photos of one man in random places around the United States. It was really funny because he was in the same position in every single picture; hands awkwardly hanging at his sides, just standing there with an awkward half-smile on his face. I named the guy Richard and made up stories about him and his adventures.Sister Barton: I love that seemingly mundane things can bring a lot of happiness and joy to people. One of my favorite things is the fact that so many different items bring back so many random and fun memories from my past and the pasts of others. It is an awesome way to get to know and understand humanity a little bit better. Thank you so much, Sister Smalley & Sister Barton, for all that you do to help Austin Creative Reuse grow! Stay tuned to see our next Volunteer Spotlight, and please visit the Get Involved section of our website if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer.