This month we are highlighting Grace Rice. She is one of our two Jesuit Volunteer Northwest AmeriCorps Members who is serving at the WCA for the next year. 
What do you do in your volunteer role at the WCA?
I am a child care specialist.
How long have you been a volunteer?
Since August, so almost 4 months.
What do you find most rewarding about your service at the WCA?
The most rewarding moments are the ones in which the children start to trust in the world again. Through the rigid routines we keep in the child care and the work the children do with their counselors and their mothers, an environment of trust is created. Once they begin to realize that the shelter is a safe place, the barrier of fear is removed and they are able to truly improve their behavior. I get to see the children put into action the healthy coping skills they have learned, first hand.
How have you changed or grown as a person through your service here?
If anything, I have definitely become a more patient person. I also have come to develop better coping skills for my own stress in life.
In your photo you are wearing a purple ribbon for domestic violence awareness. Can you tell me why it is important to you to wear the ribbon?
It is important to wear the ribbon to not only raise awareness, but to support the women and children I serve.
