Let’s chat! with Lucas and Cristiane
Street SpotlightsUncategorized
Let’s Chat! is a conversational series where we are in conversation with some of our remarkable volunteers and seasonal staff about their experience with The Salvation Army and our Ministry Unit, Boundless Vancouver. Read along as we deep dive into who they are and how they found their community here at Boundless Vancouver.
Cris and Lucas’ story is one of courage and new opportunities. They both were military and served in the Brazilian Air Force. Last year, they made one of the biggest decisions in their lives – leaving their home country and moving to Canada. They both have a long-standing history of giving back to their community and have been volunteering with us since they immigrated from Brazil. When they heard about The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver’s food programs that help children and families in the community get meals, they knew they found their community. While there are plenty of volunteer opportunities in the community, what motivates them to choose to volunteer with The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver is exactly that – the community and staff that they have grown to love, as quoted by Cris herself.
“We continue to volunteer because the people at The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver are so nice…More importantly, when we see the impact of our volunteer work on people’s lives, we want to keep volunteering.”
In comparison to Brazil, the volunteering process in Canada is a lot more structured and sophisticated, Cris remarked. With The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver, she found that it was easy to find out about the volunteer opportunities. The turnaround time between the application and execution was simple, fast, and efficient.
Every Thursday and Friday, they spend hours of their time picking up food donations that go to families in need. Having both been born into low-income families, they feel the need to give back in ways that they have been provided for in the past. This has inspired them to participate in even more events hosted by The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver, like the Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver's Garage Sale, where they met a close friend of theirs named Venera and talk to occasionally to this day.
As a parting note, they live their lives believing that “Every day is an opportunity to do some good.”
So do some good today and join Cris and Lucas on their journey of volunteering with the Salvation Army.
“We continue to volunteer because the people at The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver are so nice…More importantly, when we see the impact of our volunteer work on people’s lives, we want to keep volunteering.”
- Cristiane and Lucas, Volunteer Driver Assistants.