Volunteer experience spotlight: Nan Huynh

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. What better time to spotlight our HVAF volunteers as well as employees and volunteers 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 Nan Huynh - HVAF Case Manager


I met Adam and Erin through their own volunteer efforts at HVAF's Jackson House in 2012. The two prepared a home cooked meal to six veterans. Adam and Erin not only sat and ate with the veterans but also shared stories. Erin shared that she had previously gone underwent dialysis. The senior resident (veteran) had just recently learned that his kidneys are failing to the point of no return. He will also have to undergo dialysis and that scares him. After he sat and met with Erin and Adam, he felt like God had brought them to give him hope. To this day, the veterans recall their time spent with Adam and Erin. It was the simple act of sharing a meal that was extremely meaningful for the veterans. As a result, it was a really touching experience for me.

Volunteer experience spotlight: Sgt. Tanner J. Archibald (Ret.)

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. What better time to spotlight our HVAF volunteers as well as employees and volunteers 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 Sgt. Tanner J. Archibald USA (Ret.), HVAF volunteer

On March 2, 2012, Southern Indiana was hit with devastating tornadoes that uprooted communities across multiple counties. I volunteered my time in Sellersburg, Ind., through FEMA's “OneStop” disaster assistance program at Ivy Tech. One-Stop was a temporary location created to address the individual needs of the survivors. When someone would call seeking relief, we helped direct them to critical resources, including locating shelter and clothing. It was jaw-dropping to see what happened to the towns in a matter of minutes. Even worse, it was horrifying to see the chaos that ensued while trying to put the pieces of their lives back together. Our team worked in coordination with Red Cross, Habit for Humanity and other groups from around the country, including AmeriCorps as well as local fire and law enforcement. The disaster relief groups put in great effort to help the people affected by the tornadoes. My help was only a small part of the entire effort. During my volunteer experience, I saw communities join together and lend a helping hand to complete strangers to help rebuild homes and lives.

Volunteer experience spotlight: Grambi Dora

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. What better time to spotlight our HVAF volunteers as well as employees and volunteers 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 Grambi Dora, HVAF volunteer

Out of my duffel bag of volunteer experiences, a few that I am fond of were during my fifteen month deployment to Iraq. I moved like a vagabond from mission to mission, but some of the most memorable events took me beyond what was asked of me by my supervisors and battle buddies. I volunteered for the pure sake of wanting to help others in need. I taught foreign contractors how to multiply and how to read. I wanted to help educate them so that they could become more knowledgeable of the world around them. I put together and distributed care packages for Iraq military soldiers and civilians with hygiene products like tooth brushes, tooth paste, and hand sanitizer. Shortly after my tan boots hit ground in Iraq, my main objective besides keeping my weapons clean, and the battle buddy to my left and to my right safe, was to find a guitar. I found a figure eight shaped wooden guitar at Camp Taji, 12 miles North of Baghdad. After reaching this goal I began to play the guitar in the midst of incoming Rk-47 rounds and RPG's roaring off like thunder. The sounds that brought a trained gunner like myself, praying to my knees. My mind floundered the poetic word from time to time, and sometimes when I felt the most vulnerable, I shared my soul through the spoken word with fellow comrades. We would sit around burn pits in an attempt to escape the war that we breathed in and out like fumes of a Holocaust.

Volunteer experience spotight: Doneeka Harris

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. What better time to spotlight our HVAF employees and volunteers 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 Doneeka Harris, HVAF's Social Worker

The one good deed that touched my heart was when I worked as a volunteer in 2009 at Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound (CASA). CASA is a non-profit agency affiliated with United Way in Huntsville, Alabama. They provide services to individuals age 60 and older and to those who are home-bound (wheelchair and bed bound) of all ages. Their goal and mission is to help the aging and home-bound individuals remain at home and in a comfortable environment, to maintain their independence, dignity, health, and safety by providing services that specifically address their needs. Their work includes providing them with shower chairs, walkers, building ramps, canes and shower heads.

 As a volunteer, I helped place orders. I was also studying to be a Social Worker and had the opportunity to work with a Case Worker to see how she did her job. Together, we made sure clients had everything they needed to make them feel comfortable and safe while they spent their last moments with their families and friends. While volunteering, I helped over 100 individuals and that made me feel good and very thankful to have had that opportunity to be able to help.

Volunteer experience spotight: Bryan Dysert

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: Bryan Dysert. He's HVAF's Director of Programs and Services.

In 2006, I volunteered with the Special Olympics and served as a coach on a basketball team for kids around the age of 10. It was so much fun! We held practice two times a week and I would coach the kids through basic basketball drills. It gave me a chance to spend time with boys and help them through more than basketball skills. I was able to talk with them, mentor when needed, and just be a constant, positive force in their lives. As the season progressed, I was able to be more involved with the kids and their families. Most of the interaction was centered on basketball, but sometimes I was able to help with school, too. I also got to know their families through basketball games and practices. We ended up winning the State Championship one year! Even more, the kids made an impact on me and I could tell that I also had made an impact on them. The kids all got together and made a photo collage of our time together throughout the season of the championship win and gave it to me. It was extremely thoughtful and I often wonder what they are up to now.

Volunteer experience spotlight: Brian Andree

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.

Volunteer experience spotlight: Rachel Brown

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 Rachel Brown. She's Case Manager for HVAF's Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program. (photo of Rachel with her husband Ryan)

When I resided in Terre Haute, I volunteered at the Lighthouse Mission which provides services to men, women and children who are need of food, shelter, and clothing. The specific location I volunteered at was for men only. Through volunteering, I was able to interact with the men staying at the shelter, attend chapel services with clients, serve meals to men at the shelter and families who would come to eat. I knew that I wanted to attend college and major in social work and volunteering at the Lighthouse Mission was one of my first experiences after making that decision. This experience made me realize even more that I enjoyed working with people. Being able to interact with the men at the shelter helped me to learn a lot about what the social work field brought. I love working in the social work profession and it allows me to learn something from every person that I come in contact with.

Volunteer experience spotlight: Emmy Hildebrand

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 Emmy Hildebrand. She's HVAF's Advocacy and Public Policy Coordinator.

For several years, I volunteered through the Office of Senator Richard Lugar at Gleaner’s Food Bank, both located in Indianapolis. Gleaner’s Food Bank’s goal is to provide local food banks with supplies who then in turn distribute to additional food banks that need help filling their shelves. I was a volunteer from 2005 until 2012, and helped collect food donations for food drives as well as sort the food at the food bank’s warehouse. However, in 2012, I was able to take a team of interns along as a part of the Gleaner’s Mobile Food Bank. Our group took a box truck of food to a church parking lot on the south side of Indianapolis and stayed for several hours handing out food to those who were in need. This experience was an incredible one because we were able to physically hand a family a large box of food knowing that we were helping to meet the family’s basic needs.  We often don’t think about hunger in our town; it always seems like more of a far-away problem. However, 15% of Hoosier households are food insecure. Too many of our neighbors and children at the local elementary schools don’t have enough to eat. The interns and I left the church parking lot that day feeling extremely fortunate for the lives that we helped and the lives that we get to live each day.