It’s National Volunteer Recognition Week! Every day this week we’ll be highlighting a Sanctuary volunteer who will be honored at our Pillars of Change Volunteer Recognition Event on May 10th. Learn more and register for Pillars of Change.
Junior Hypolite has been volunteering with Sanctuary for Families for an astonishing 14 years!
Utilizing his skills as a new professional driver, Junior’s first volunteer role was delivering invitation packets for our Zero Tolerance Benefit to board members and longtime supporters, providing a quick, efficient, and cost-effective way of expanding our reach. This was not without its challenges, he tells us, “I had little experience driving in Manhattan. It was an adventure!”
Junior’s eagerness to assist Sanctuary in any way he could has led him to become an essential part of many of our client-focused events and initiatives. He regularly picks up and delivers large quantities of in-kind donations we receive from individuals and corporations throughout the city, allowing the agency to expand our capacity to receive more items.
This important work allows clients to access items that may otherwise be unavailable to them. Junior’s support in delivering holiday gifts to our clients at Sanctuary’s other locations in the outer boroughs is just one example of the way in which his assistance allows Sanctuary to best meet the needs of our clients throughout the city.
“It’s a privilege to know that my work has a concrete, tangible impact on clients.”
It’s not just Sanctuary clients that benefit from Junior’s versatility and flexibility. On countless occasions, Junior has come to the aid of staff who urgently need to attend important meetings with clients, providing much needed support and accompaniment.
Junior admits that he wasn’t always so invested in issues surrounding gender violence. Through his work at Sanctuary, he has now become a passionate advocate for survivors and has taken this experience to the individuals in his own life, sharing information about domestic violence and supportive services.
Volunteering at Sanctuary has a special, personal meaning for Junior. Sanctuary attorneys assisted one of his family members during a crisis situation and helped them petition for an order of protection. Junior credits Sanctuary for its genuine compassion for his family member.
And we credit Junior for all of his incredible, selfless service which has consistently gone above-and-beyond the call of duty. His dependable nature allows us to consistently maximize our ability to transport important resources to our other locations, event sites, and ultimately our clients.
We hope you will join us at Pillars of Change on May 10, 2017 to recognize Junior and four other incredible volunteers for their service. You can join us at Pillars of Change by registering now!