April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. What better time to spotlight our HVAF employees as they share, in their own words, their unique volunteer experiences in the community. All month long, we’ll be sharing their stories on the HVAF blog.

Meet: Brian Andree. He’s a Case Manager for HVAF’s Scattered Site properties.

My most memorable volunteer experience was my time spent at The RISE. It’s an organization in Bloomington, Ind. that provides free housing to women who are fleeing domestic violence. I volunteered at The RISE from 2006 until 2008.  At this point in time, I knew I wanted to go to Graduate school for social work and through volunteering at The RISE it was able to provide me with the experience I needed in this field.  Volunteering there came with many personal and professional benefits. The RISE was similar to a daycare because after school the kids who lived in the attached housing with their mothers would come and get help on their homework. Many of the kids would also read to me so they could practice their skills. The children ranged in ages from kindergarten to sixth grade and roughly twenty to twenty five of them would attend the after school day care. My fondest memory was working with a particular child who was having trouble with his multiplication tables. After we had spent a fair amount of time on practicing math, I began to get reports from the students’ mother that his grades were improving and he was comprehending math very well. I loved knowing that I was able to help a child succeed.