Natalie is a volunteer with Big Fish Club and is the Community Captain at the Booker T. aprtment location. Natalie and her team serve every Thursday night at Big Fish Club! We sat down with Natalie and asked her a little about her and her heart for Big Fish Club. Here is what she said:
I have been involved with Big Fish Club for one year (Started in August 2018). My sister and I were looking for ways to help the community we live in. We loved that Big Fish Club not only incorporates playing outdoors with kids, or providing a meal, but also an opportunity to see what it means to love God.
The first week of Big Fish Club, we met Andres, who was the leader of the Booker T. Washington community. With a big smile on his face, he explained how he had been praying for other like-minded helpers to dedicate their time and to be passionate about serving the community. He was so excited to share about how God had answered that prayer and that Booker T. would have enough help each week.
It is amazing to see kids that week after week are remembering the lessons and learning God’s word through memorizing a bible verse. It is truly special to pray with kids and hear their concerns and praising go up to God. In the moment, when kids are running around and they don’t seem like they are hearing a thing, it is so special to come back the next week and hear them recite what was learned.
I love volunteering at BFC because it is a small way that I can truly make a difference in kids’ lives. All we are doing is giving them a meal, playing some games, sharing a story from the Bible, but most importantly we are there to just listen to them and let them know that we care about them. I love that instead of making them come to us to have a community night, we are actually going out to them each week, knocking on doors and asking if kids want to play.
Volunteering with BFC was the highlight of my week each week this past year. It is amazing to see the kids grow and learn. We get to impact these kids lives just by showing up each week and being present. All we have to do is be ready to listen and just serve the kids in ways they aren’t used to seeing. Often, I think we feel like we have to offer something grand or do something big to be impactful, but really the small day-to-day things are what leads to the biggest impact. It isn’t hard to reach down and tie a kids shoe, but it shows the kid that someone cares about them, and sometimes that is all that they need.
-Natalie Ward, Big Fish Club Community Captain
