Laura Youngblood, Volunteer at FrancisCorps

A Simple Pause

“So, what are your plans for next year?” This time last year, I had a speech prepared and memorized. Now, I panic a bit. Throughout this year, I’ve supplied plenty of different answers to Francis House staff and volunteers and even to my own parents. Coming into this year, I had a set plan that…


Laura Youngblood, Volunteer at FrancisCorps

Communicating Your Needs

These last few months working through increasingly strict COVID regulations at work have challenged me in ways I never imagined. I fell into the dangerous way of thinking, “How could things possibly get worse?” Volunteers had been reduced from 14 per day to 4 per day at Francis House and visiting residents felt distant in…


Laura Youngblood, Volunteer at FrancisCorps

Wearing Many Hats

Most days at work I jokingly say, “I wear so many hats— I should invest in a hat rack.” The job description for Francis House couldn’t begin to encapsulate my range of jobs.  I was fortunate enough to be trained as a caregiver almost immediately after starting. My days as a caregiver are some of…


Laura Youngblood, Volunteer at FrancisCorps

Let Go and Let God

For someone who loves to plan and make sure everything is planned down to the tiniest details, my entrance into FrancisCorps was anything but. During my junior year of college, one of the campus ministers of our UNC- Chapel Hill Newman Center suggested that I meet with “the director of this gap year program I…


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