Roland started volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul in December of 2024. His reasons for choosing to volunteer at the shelter included his desire to directly help others. He did his research on various agencies in the Dayton area and found information online about St. Vincent de Paul.

He started out helping with food preparation in Central Kitchen and has since expanded to helping serve meals at the Women and Families Shelter. Roland shared that he has gained so much from his experiences, including great joy in being here, helping others, and personal growth. He has seen the blessings in his own life and learned humility and to be grateful for his own situation. Roland enjoys the community here at St. Vincent de Paul and values our mission. He has learned many skills, including communication, conflict resolution, flexibility, and adaptability. He even picked up some culinary skills! All this has also allowed him to grow personally.

Roland often observes new volunteers who arrive for their first day of service with a savior mindset, which can conflict with the objective of volunteer service. His advice for volunteers is to “bring you, your time, and your light!” He feels blessed for the opportunity to shine his light! The guests are so appreciative of his help, friendly charisma, and his gift of time. Thank you, Roland, for being such a positive example of St. Vincent de Paul’s mission!