Donovan Heymer, Volunteer Program Assistant
At Little Brothers- Friends of the Elderly, we have a Highlight of the Week series where we shine a spotlight on members of the LBFE community including board members, older adults, volunteers, students, staff, CitySites (and more!) to learn about them and their experiences with LBFE. This week’s highlight is of one of our new Volunteer Program Assistants (VPA), Donovan Heymer! Read on to learn more about Donovan:
“Hey there, my name is Donovan. I’m from the south of Germany Stuttgart, the hometown of Mercedes –Benz. A long time ago I had the question- ‘What will I do after graduating high school?’
It was clear to me that I wanted to go abroad for a longer time before I start to study at college.
I wanted to travel around, broaden my horizon and gain new experiences. Through the German organization World Horizon I came across Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly. The idea of relieving isolation and loneliness among elders are in my eyes a wonderful thing that I can do as a volunteer. I hope I can have a positive effect on some elders and help them with their social life during my time with Little Brothers.
So it is my second time staying in America, but it will be my first time being away from home for such a long time. One year in Boston, one year alone in a new kind of world, without family and friends for the first time. I will give my best as a volunteer here at Little Brothers. I hope I get through this year knowing more about the American culture, maybe also more of the history too. I hope that personally I will grow through working with some elders and also get a better understanding of the American language.
World Horizon is a German non-profit organization, that supports amazing and wonderful projects in many different countries for example Colombia, Ecuador, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines and in the USA. Around 25 young people every year, get the chance to go one year abroad to make new experiences. All of them with the the goal of making other people’s daily life a little bit better.
These volunteers provide support at schools, day nurseries, children’s homes and support elderly people.
Through the volunteering programs ‘Weltwärts’ and ‘Internationaler Jugendfreiwilligendienst,’ they are supported by the German Federal Ministry, but at World-Horizon, they are a non-profit organization dependent on donations.”
Remember to check out next week’s blog to see who will be highlighted then!
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