Our work here at the WCA would not be possible without the help of some amazing volunteers! We would like to take a moment to highlight just one of them: Kelly Katona.
What do you do in your volunteer role at the WCA?
I assist the front desk by answering phone calls and making copies. I am an expert at envelope stuffing and I’m pretty great at being a general ‘gofer’. I always say “Yeah! Of course!” enthusiastically when ever anyone from the office asks me for anything. It’s an automatic response when I’m asked for help. I also volunteer for events that pop up here and there. I volunteered for the first Fallapalooza festival last year and the WCA Holiday Party.
How long have you been a volunteer?
I started volunteering in October of 2015 after my best friend took me along to the WCA for a tour. I immediately filled out a volunteer application and turned it in as soon as the tour was over. I wanted to use the front desk as a way to gain job experience, but instead I gained a valuable elevated sense of self-confidence and that warm tingle your heart feels when it grows three sizes.
What do you find most rewarding about your service at the WCA?
I am surrounded by strong, amazing women on all sides of the office with incredible traits I aspire to have. My father was a sexual crimes detective for several years, and my mother was a court advocate for domestic violence clients, so I grew up knowing how hard but rewarding this line of work is.
I also have an unshakable belief in a better future for everyone and I understand that future isn’t possible without some help. So I’m helping in any way that I am able. Having been in an emotionally abusive relationship, I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I did or feel that way about themselves. The WCA is, in itself, a reward to me.
How have you changed or grown as a person through your service here?
I grew from being a rather negative, uptight, highly depressed person into a positive, more relaxed ‘I-can-conquer-this’ personality through my time here and I’ve never been happier or healthier. Because of that change I felt more of a desire to help people instead of keeping them at arms length. The WCA has also taught me a lot about how those relationships should be. If someone is treating me like less of a person or making me feel uncomfortable in any kind of relationship, then I should do what’s best for me. Relationships should lift you up and help you with everyday battles, not be the battle.
