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Why the Ferro Family Volunteers
 It all started with a piece of fabric.
“I needed eight volunteer hours to earn my Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge for Boy Scouts,” says 13-year-old Alex Ferro, “so my mom and I decided to start volunteering at the Samaritan Center.”
Thirty volunteer hours later, they’re still coming back for more.
From the start, Alex liked the work that he and his mom did together sorting games at the Center. When he really grew to love it, however, was when his 17-year-old brother Daniel started volunteering with them as well.
“Alex was happy because then he could give all the complicated games to Daniel,” his mom Karen says with a wink.
“Daniel helps out a lot,” Alex admits with a blush and a sheepish smile. “It’s really a lot of fun.”
Before joining his mother and Alex at the Center, Daniel had volunteered with McCallie’s Habitat for Humanity House, sharing his time even though McCallie did not require students to put in volunteer hours.
After his schedule changed, however, he found himself with a desire to help but no outlet through which to act.
“So I figured I’d go volunteer at the Center with them,” he says.
Daniel estimates that fifty percent of his 17-year-old friends are doing all they can to distance themselves from their parents, but he has no desire to follow their example.
“I especially like doing things with my family that are productive and help other people—like volunteering at the Center,” he says.
Before the Ferros started volunteering, they already spent a lot of quality time together—playing games at home, bicycling, kayaking, going on family vacations, and more. Even so, volunteering provided a new way for them to interact and to enrich their relationships.
Volunteering also helped them find their place in the community, which can be increasingly difficult as Ooltewah continues to mushroom in size.
“It’s nice to feel involved,” says Karen.
Especially with two active boys in school, the Ferros’ schedules are not always predictable, but that’s one reason Karen feels that the Center is the perfect place to volunteer.
“We come in as school allows,” she says. “It’s just perfect. It’s close to home and convenient. Many weeks we’ll come in for around two hours, but it’s flexible so our volunteering experience can be as short or as long as we want.
“It’s good that the boys learn to give back to the community that they live in,” Karen adds. “On top of it all, after volunteering we always feel good because we know we’re helping our community.”
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