May Volunteer of the Month: Amalia

If you come to Midtown Assistance Center on a Wednesday night, you’ll probably be greeted with one of Amalia’s friendly smiles. She has been serving clients on Wednesday evenings for the past several years, and she is an essential part of MAC’s mission. Amalia first heard about MAC through her church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the late 90’s. Then, she was working at Georgia Tech and our Wednesday night assistance hours fit perfectly with her schedule. “I keep coming back every week because MAC is a great place to volunteer,” She reflects. “The staff and other volunteers are lots of fun and it’s so rewarding to meet the clients and be able to help them with what they need – right away for the most part.”

Now that Amalia is retired, she continues to serve on Wednesday nights, but often fills in other times throughout the week. She comes in early to answer the phone and screen clients for assistance. She often picks up donations and brings them back to MAC office, traveling all over the city with her station-wagon full of food, clothing or other goodies for clients. Last summer, Amalia came in during the week to help train some new volunteers to work with clients. Her favorite client story, however, is the working men’s clothing closet at MAC. “I have really enjoyed helping repeat clients in the clothing closet refresh their work wardrobes. As one of them pointed out, we have a far better selection than any of the local thrift shops!”

In addition to serving at MAC, Amalia takes classes at Georgia Tech, travels near and far, volunteers with other organizations and bikes around town. She is also involved in Mundito Foundation, a giving circle that, thanks to Amalia, was able to secure funding for MAC’s Digital Inclusion Program. Amalia and her husband are Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in in Central African Republic and are active members of the Atlanta Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.