Thirty Year Thursday: MAC’s Wednesday Night Crew

To celebrate our thirtieth year anniversary, we’re interviewing a friend of MAC each Thursday for thirty weeks as part of a series call “Thirty Year Thursday.” This week, we interviewed the women that make up MAC’s Wednesday night crew: Joan, a 15 year volunteer and member of the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, Jill, a 12 year MAC volunteer and Coca-Cola employee, and Amalia, a four year MAC volunteer and Georgia Tech professor.

How did you first find out about MAC?

Joan: Through Sacred Heart.

Jill: Through St. Luke’s. I think I learned about it through their website.

Amalia: Through St. Luke’s as well.

What initially drew you to volunteer?

Joan: I wanted to volunteer somewhere where I could see an immediate need being met.

Jill: I was raised that you should give back, and I liked that MAC served the working poor.

Amalia: MAC was close by, and it seemed like a good place to volunteer. I also live in a zip code MAC serves.

Why do you keep coming back?

Joan: The volunteers. And people really do appreciate what you do for them, and that keeps you coming back.

Jill: I would also have to say the volunteers.

Amalia: It’s fun. Also, when you leave you feel like you have helped someone.

What have you learned through your experience with MAC?

Joan: I have noticed how expensive things like groceries are and how that must affect the clients we serve.

Jill: The need that there is here. I think I had been a little oblivious. Now I am more aware that someone could be a paycheck away from homelessness. I have met a lot of elderly people raising grandchildren on social security checks or a small amount of food stamps.

Amalia: That people live so close to the edge of homelessness.

Do you have a favorite story from your time at MAC?

Joan: It is hard to pick one. Occasionally clients will ask about how they can help, and it is good to see that gratitude and desire to give back.

Jill: This isn’t necessarily a happy story, but I had a client who was my age and had just served a long prison sentence. We were helping him with food. When I gave him our list, he told me to just give him whatever. I thought maybe he couldn’t read, but it turned out he was scared to choose and afraid to be out of prison.

Amalia: When I meet someone who comes back to MAC wanting to help.