“It is always a good thing to help others even in the simplest ways. If every person helped out, we would live in a better community, city, country and world.”
To say Khalil Ajami gained a lot through his opportunities to volunteer with the United Way of Southeastern Michigan is an understatement.
Ajami, Network Analyst, has volunteered on two separate occasions with the United Way through Walbridge. The first, he helped package boxes at Gleaners Food Bank. The second, he helped prep and pass out food to residents of the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM).
“It was very humbling,” he said. “I look forward to volunteering more this year.”
The Walbridge Volunteer Program through the United Way offers opportunities to volunteer in the Detroit-area and is available to all Walbridge offices. The goal is to allow employees and teams to help in their community.
Kaitlyn McLean, Human Resources Specialist, was among the Walbridge group at DRMM and said it not only was rewarding to help the community, but it helped build lasting relationships between her group too.
“Serving the community was rewarding, but doing it as a group was even better,” she said. “We learned more about one another and all agreed that we would do it again.”
‘I would definitely do this again’
There are a variety of volunteer opportunities available – from serving food to helping mentor others.
For Josh Christman, volunteering meant helping job seekers learn invaluable interviewing skills. Through Focus: HOPE Detroit’s “Fast Track Program,” he took time to help women learn those skills and walk away more confident in their job search. During a five-hour period, he interviewed candidates, and then educated them on how to make a strong impact with the interviewer.
“I was impressed with the level of confidence that these candidates displayed in the interviews and the willingness to learn from the interviewers,” Christman, New Business Development Director, said, adding his goal was to set the women apart from their competition.
In Christman’s case, as the day was done, some of the women he interviewed in the beginning of the day came back to discuss their successes.
“They told me how my coaching allowed them to get so much more than they expected,” he said. “I would definitely do this again in the future; it felt great to be able to give back.”
Alex Jakstys, a Senior Engineering Coordinator, volunteered through Focus Hope’s early childhood development center, spending time feeding, playing with, and changing the diapers of children that are 1-year-old or younger.
“They do a lot of good work at Focus: HOPE and they were very grateful to have a volunteer to assist them,” he said. “I’m hoping we can get more people to take advantage and participate in other upcoming volunteer opportunities.”
During a special Lunch and Learn titled “Believe There is Good in Detroit,” Walbridge President Mike Haller highlighted the good the United Way for Southeastern Michigan is doing in the community and told employees their volunteer work is important to the company.
“We have a responsibility to the community – clear and simple,” Haller said. “That’s important stuff. I can’t reiterate it enough.”