One life changing experience I had as an AmeriCorps member came one day as I was hanging out in the art classroom after school. I was working on an i-Movie project for the art students and talking to some of the kids who came to hang out. Around 4 PM, one of the students who was in the gallery space came over and said he had something to show me. He led me into the gallery space and I was greeted by a group of 4-5 male students who were gathered together in a circle. Their faces were somber, two of them still had tears in their eyes.

The boys were gathered as part of a group of artists, rappers, and creative dreamers who wanted to make a pact to change their school. They had a vision for creating a studio, having mass concerts, and promoting

When working with children, there are many days that go by monotonously. Behavior, homework, and classroom procedures can sometimes seem to be a routine. It is often a challenge to step back and look at the large-scale change. However, the changes in the children and families, whether large or small, are the very things that teach me and motivate me to go on.

Stephanie from Davenport, Florida discovered a way to volunteer from thousands of miles away. Through ChristianVolunteering.org, Stephanie found an opportunity to serve as a virtual administrative assistant for Orphanages of Africa (OFA)--an international humanitarian organization in Canada. Virtual volunteering is a way for volunteers to serve online from their office or home. On ChristianVolunteering.org, there are virtual volunteering opportunities like grant writing, computer programming, language translation, web design, and marketing where people can volunteer without having to travel.

Sarah Park graduated from City Vision College in 2010 with a degree in Addiction Studies. The knowledge and experience she gained from City Vision applies to her work today at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, located in Boston, MA where she's currently a Case Manager. Many of the hospital's patients are from under-served populations, especially the homeless and drug addicts.

Kevin Maples never expected to help organizations rescue children from sexual abuse, provide jobs for women, or eradicate poverty when he searched www.ChristianVolunteering.org for a volunteer opportunity.

Raised by a single mother in Detroit and the Bronx, Bennie Caswell had his share of trials. In the early ‘90s he lost his teenage daughter to asthma, and his ex-wife soon after to cancer. This brought him to severe depression and an addiction to cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and prescription drugs. It wasn’t until the late ‘90s did transformation manifest itself. By God’s grace, his addictions subsided and he decided to get an education. He eventually graduated with an AS from a community college, and just recently with a BS from City Vision College.

Working with children was a passion of Shannon's for years. A previous "Big Sister", Shannon searched for volunteer opportunities in her new city of Pittsburgh when she moved there in 2008.