Symantec's Volunteer of the Quarter: Melaney Smith

I spent five years of my childhood living at a children’s home, where my parents lived and worked as “house parents” for one of the cottages there.  Most of the children had been removed from unsafe or unstable homes, with no other family able to care for them.  Everything they had, from their clothing to their food, was made possible by the generosity of strangers. I was keenly aware how fortunate I was to have parents; to live in the same home as my siblings; to have grandparents and aunts and uncles; to get to choose my own clothing from a store, or make a wish list for Santa at Christmas – things that are a normal part of many children’s lives in America today. 

This early, up-close glimpse of poverty and need helped me realize at an early age that the people affected by it are individuals, each with their own story. They are helped when other individuals, each with their own stories, make the decision to do something. Every hour spent, every dollar donated, works to build a whole that is so much bigger than the sum of its parts.

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