Pause 🤝 Volunteers

Did you know that this past programming year the 378 volunteers enrolled in Pause spent 5,646.25 hours volunteering with us? In case you’re wondering, the market value for volunteers in 2023, is $31.80 per hour (the highest it’s ever been!). That means that Pause volunteers have essentially invested $179,869 in Pause this year! We don’t take their investment lightly!

Because of the volunteer investment in Pause, we are able to serve more kids and more families. In fact, last fall we served on average 30 kids per respite event, but in the spring we were able to serve an average of 45 kids per respite event - all thanks to increased volunteer engagement! Volunteers are the key for allowing more families to attend events and ensuring the safety of all our kiddos!

One of our most favorite ways to appreciate our volunteers is to shout out how amazing they are to the whole world! To our core, we know this program would be nearly impossible without volunteer investment and we are so thankful to have strong, committed volunteers to call on to best love our kiddos! We’d love to introduce you to Adrianna! She’s a recent graduate at Miami University double majoring in Emerging Technology in Business + Design and Strategic Communication with a minor in Digital Innovation. Adrianna grew up in West Chester only 5 minutes away from Pause! She loves traveling both domestically and internationally. Last spring she lived and worked in San Francisco, CA, and got to explore the West Coast and Oahu, Hawaii with friends. Adrianna has visited 14 countries and plans to see many more after graduation before starting her career in the fall! One unique thing about Adrianna that she rarely tells people (lucky us!) is that she holds a black belt in karate. A goal she reached at age 11! (WOW!)

Keep reading to find out more about Adrianna’s volunteer experience! 

Why did you choose to volunteer with Pause?
I started volunteering with Pause in November of 2021. I found the volunteer opportunity on Miami's service page and decided to join a Parent's Night Out where I worked in the Sib Shop. That was the best introduction to Pause because I had a group of 6 and 7-year-olds that I still see at Pause in 2023! I chose to join this amazing organization because, in high school, I did tons of babysitting, but in college there was just no time for that. Pause gives me the opportunity to engage with children and learn how they interact with each other and I'm doing it all for such a good cause. I've volunteered with children before, but Pause is like no other service organization. I get the chance to meet entire families and see children grow and develop which is something I could not find anywhere else.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with Pause?

My favorite part about volunteering with Pause is working with large families. It is so beautiful to see siblings in my small group checking in on their younger or older siblings. There is so much love among these children and it reminds me to check in on people in my life when things are moving too fast. I recently started working with toddlers and one of the children's siblings would look into the room and wave at their sibling every time they walked past our classroom. Both of their faces lit up which just warmed my heart.

Do you find any challenges volunteering with Pause?

One challenge that I encounter when volunteering with Pause is learning how to interact with children when I am not familiar with their communication styles. I am passionate about accessibility and understanding overshadowed disabilities so that is another reason why I love Pause. I overcome these challenges by asking questions. Sometimes other volunteers have worked with the children in my group and can help me find a way to make that child's experience better. When I volunteer with Pause, I feel like I'm in a real classroom learning how different minds work and that is so intriguing and makes me come back for more.

Do you feel like you're making an impact?

I definitely feel like I'm making an impact. I know I'm truly making a difference because when I work with Pause, I forget that I'm volunteering. When I tell other people about Pause, I tell them that the mission and the work that Pause does is so important that you don't even feel like you are doing work, you forget that you're earning service hours (or at least I do). When I walk out of Pause, I always have a smile on my face because I know that I just helped a child form a memory that will last them a lifetime. I know that I just gave a parent or adult in that child's life a well-deserved break. From the outside, Pause may look like a babysitting gig, but I can tell that the families we help see the impact because they keep coming back. I love getting that high five from the same child every time I volunteer. I love <my volunteer role sometimes of> taking pictures of the families that attend each event and the holiday events. (Getting emotional now lol). Pause is a place where I can go that feels like a second home to me and the people whose lives I'm impacting each time I walk through the door.

Adrianna - thank you so much for your commitment to Pause kiddos! They are so lucky to have you as a role model and we are so thankful for your support in more ways than we can express! 

This is CAN DO.  This is COMMUNITY.  This is YOUR SUPPORT.