Perhaps it's the holiday spirit, or maybe it's my constant quest for thoughtful, creative, and socially responsible gifts, but today I was reminded of a very dear part of my college life and I thought I'd share it with you all.
My sophomore year at college, I lived with 9 other girls in an apartment called "Mayfield." In order to live in this apartment, we had to submit a proposal for a community service endeavor that we would participate in for the academic year. We decided to partner with an organization that at the time was called "Magdalene House" but has since shortened it's name to just Magdalene.
Magdalene is a residential program where women who have a history of abuse, prostitution of drug addiction can enroll and receive shelter, counseling, rehabilitation, education and job training. They fund themselves by running a separate organization called Thistle Farms, a social enterprise where the women create home and bath products by hand and sell online and throughout Nashville.
Magdalene's headquarters is the beautiful St. Augustine Chapel on Vanderbilt's campus, and I have many fond memories of volunteering there throughout my Sophomore year and beyond. Here are a few:
- Tutoring a woman for her GED in basic high school math. She had no trouble grasping the concepts, but the fact that someone at her age had never been exposed to so much really opened my eyes to my own good fortune.
- Cooking meals in the Magdalene kitchen and serving them to the women and their families.
- Helping make candles, soaps, and lotions in advance of the holiday surge. The scent of Lavender is forever linked to Magdalene in my mind.
- Volunteering for an overnight homeless event at St. Augustine Chapel where we go pick up people from an over-full homeless shelter and house them at the Chapel for the night.
- Cleaning up the yard at one of the Magdalene residences. They were so appreciative and it looked so good!
- Having a holiday even at our sponsor's house. It was a wonderful night of friends, food, and coining of the nickname "Mel Hester"
- I will never forget the day that the secretary at Magdalene, a nice, single lady in her 30s with a few pounds to lose, came in to the office all excited and said, "Guess what!? I just started smoking to lose weight!!" Shocking, really.
- Cleaning and organizing St. Augustine Chapel seemingly every week because there were always so many people in and out of there.
I'm thankful to Magdalene, Becca Stevens, Leigh Gilchrist, and Vanderbilt for the opportunity to look beyond my own little bubble during my time at Vanderbilt. It was truly a blessing.
If you're looking for good Christmas gift ideas, may I suggest checking out Thistle Farms and telling their story along with the gift?
Blessings to you this holiday season!
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