Wrapping Up Our Campaign

Our Purpose:

We are a student-led group from the University of Tennessee, and we partnered with the non-profit Volunteer Ministry Center (VMC) in Knoxville. In this partnership, we hope to support our homeless neighbors through supportive services and safe housing. We know housing is more than a roof; housing is the ticket to stability. Your donation will help VMC continue its “Opening Doors for a Better Tomorrow” mission by assisting individuals within our community and bringing opportunities to alter lives in Knoxville.

Our Blog:

The purpose of our blog is to conclude our campaign and share our experiences. Over the course of the past several weeks, each of us shared our individual stories through different blog posts. The Volunteer Ministry Center strives to help their neighbors through so many different ways, including secure housing. A home is not just a house, dorm, or apartment, it's a place that provides comfort, stability, and memories. Our goal was to raise awareness about those in Knoxville that are struggling with homelessness, and we are happy with the results we had.

Yuji:

    Being able to serve and give back to the community means a lot to me. Knoxville has been my home away from home, and it has provided me with so much comfort and friends that I will cherish for a long time. Through this fundraiser campaign, I found that having a community is so important. A healthy community can help you through your hardships, celebrate your highs, and check in on you. This was very evident in our campaign because we had a lot of positive responses to helping our homeless neighbors.

Carter:

I can't believe how quickly this semester went by. It felt like yesterday that I was meeting my group for the first time and being assigned the VMC as our non-profit. Now, it is time that we wrap up our campaign, where we raised approximately $291 to help the VMC support their programs. I wish we could have raised more money, but the stigma around homelessness was hard to combat, and unfortunately, many people are less apt to donate because of that. Aside from that, I am grateful that I was able for the opportunity to help run this campaign, I learned a lot. I look forward to applying the things I learned from running the campaign to my real life.

Jake:

Ava:

As our fundraiser comes to a close, I am also wrapping up my third semester here in Knoxville. Moving 500 miles from home last year was definitely challenging but was one hundred percent worth it. I think part of what helped me adjust to a new place was having a stable and consistent community supporting me. Whether it's in a dorm or an apartment, I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who are looking out for me. The work we have done with the VMC is all in hopes of helping homeless individuals find stable and supportive housing. Thank you for following along with us over the past few weeks!

Adrianna:

When moving to Knoxville, we all our away from our home so we had to adapt to a new city to make it feel like our home. For me, I was able to do this by incorporating things I did back in California also in Knoxville. I think helping out the community and being apart of something bigger than ourselves is something that helps you feel apart of that community. Working with the Volunteer Ministry Center, I was able to feel more apart of Knoxville than I ever have because I was able to see a problem happening right in front of me and was able to campaign for it and hopefully make a difference.