Each summer, the Bishop Sullivan Center coordinates a summer internship experience for students to serve Kansas City nonprofit organizations. In this blog, two of the student interns reflect on their summer of service.
Hannah Clemens and Hope Faith Homeless Assistance Campus
It would be easy to tell you that I had a wonderful summer working at Hope Faith Homeless Assistance Campus. I could tell you that I met new people and learned a lot about the homeless community. The truth is though, I did not just meet new people; I made new friends. I didn't just learn about the homeless community; I learned about my own community and those people within it that are often forgotten. I learned about problems in the larger system, problems that cause so many people to go without the resources we all deserve to stay safe, healthy, and happy. It's not easy to explain how my summer at Hope Faith changed the way I value every person I meet each day. Mostly what I learned is to feel blessed, not just because I have clothes on my back and a roof over my head, but blessed because I have a chance to make a difference.
Hannah Clemens is a senior studying Political Science and French. She is excited to pursue her Master of Social Work after graduating in the spring. Hannah continues to work on the Hope Faith staff during this school year.
Jacob Kamper and Project ElderCool
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive." - Acts 20:35
In our current society many people have the benefit of returning home to a cold house during the summer. However, in the summer of 1999, Kansas City saw 21 senior citizens die due to the extreme heat. Bishop Sullivan Center saw this need to raise awareness through Project ElderCool, which provides free air conditioners to individuals throughout the Kansas City metro area who are elderly or have a respiratory disability. They installed more than 6,000 air conditioners units in the metro area in the past 20 years. Driven by faith and their personal mission, the program is able to deliver and install air conditioners in a timely manner to help one to stay cool and safe over the summer.
Being an intern for Project ElderCool at the Bishop Sullivan Center truly opened up a new door for me. While growing up, I learned the best way to create change and bring happiness to the people around you was to be with the people. Not only did Project ElderCool allow me to be with the people but also to make an impact on their daily lives. I truly believe that the most rewarding part of my work was to see the smiles on the faces of the clients. It is important to know that God is always watching over us and these simple smiles truly have changed my attitude to helping those in need. While we tried to distance ourselves due to COVID-19, under my mask was a large smile of gratification that hasn't stopped. In connection to my faith, I believe these smiles are given to us when we live out our purpose in life following God's mission. In the end, that smile has become a smile that keeps on giving and spreads the knowledge that God is with us even in hard times. I continue to volunteer at the Bishop Sullivan Center helping with the current issues inside our Greater Kansas City community.
Jacob Kamper is a senior at Rockhurst University double majoring in Nonprofit Leadership Studies with an emphasis in fundraising and Political Science with a minor in Leadership Studies. After graduation in December, Jacob plan on continuing my education at Rockhurst by starting my MBA and entering the nonprofit sector in Kansas City. In my free time, Jacob can be seen walking my puppy Bengal around campus or volunteering at numerous nonprofits in the Kansas City metro area.
