On behalf of the Maker's Place, we wanted to take a moment to highlight one of our good and faithful volunteers, LaVerna, who has stuck by us throughout the pandemic. LaVerna is simply the best, and our Co-Director, Callie, had an opportunity to speak with LaVerna in regard to her "why" when it comes to volunteering with the Maker's Place. Read below to see what Callie has to share about LaVerna:
Sometimes when we anticipate difficulty, we say things like, “if it were just that simple.” But fortunately for us at the Maker’s Place, during an extremely challenging time, a “simple ask” was all it took for our LaVerna Albury to leave the comfort and safety of her home week after week to ensure Diaper Depot families would continue to get diapers they needed. Knowing diaper need is an ongoing issue for families, we deemed our weekly diaper bank distribution an essential service to the community. And so, we went to work to find a way to meet the needs of our Diaper Depot members as safely and compassionately as we could.
LaVerna had served as a volunteer at the Maker’s Place in a few capacities but as we all know, a willing heart that serves during the pandemic is also a courageous heart! With her simple yes, she quickly became one of the cornerstones of our new multi-location distribution system and she hasn’t stopped bundling diapers for Trenton families since! Our diaper inventory goes from LaVerna’s faithful hands to the bottoms of healthy and happy children all around the city and when asked why she came to volunteer with us, she simply said, “Because you asked me!”
By the way, LaVerna doesn’t just belong to us, she’s also a very active member at Princeton UMC where she offers her many gifts and talents in service to her worshipping community—almost too many to list here. We are so blessed by her faithfulness and can’t imagine the Diaper Depot without her!
We are forever grateful all of those who volunteer with the Maker's Place! Thank you for playing a part in making a change for families and children in Trenton, NJ! If you want to get more involved, check out our website: https://www.makersplace.org/volunteer! We promise you'll be glad you did!