Marjorie has been volunteering with IRC San Diego for a year and her work has made a lasting impact on our programs and clients. A few weeks ago, Marjorie met with two current interns from the Development and Communications team to talk about her volunteering experience.

______________________________________________________________

Q: How long have you been with the IRC? What is your role? 

Coming in on a year. Last year I started working with the Women's Resilience Center (WRC) to develop a once-a-month art program for women, with the option for them to bring their children. In a previous volunteer role, I taught at a foster home in Mexico, which were all kids. But this new role at the WRC was all adults when we first started, many of whom had no background in art and spoke different languages. So, I had to break down the project into manageable steps to make it for accessible for everyone. We’d choose themes with cultural significance to keep the work meaningful. And when I worked with the kids, I adapted each project to their skill level so they could participate comfortably. 

Q: What do you think your work with WRC represents? 

I can only imagine the amount of pressure, stress, challenges that these women and children have faced in their life. Starting over in a new country is especially difficult. The Art Adventures class is an opportunity for them to just be in the moment and get absorbed in something creative and fun. Everyone gets to make something, and at the end of the night they take it home. It’s a space where they can unwind, relax, and be creative.  

Q: Why did you decide to volunteer for the IRC San Diego? 

I missed the program I was doing in Mexico with Amy, who now volunteers with me in the Art Adventures program at the WRC. For many years, we went down and made murals, conducted art projects with the kids. When COVID‑19 hit, the school shut down and we couldn’t go to Mexico for two years, and the program eventually fell apart. I missed that volunteer work a lot. I felt like I wanted to do something more.  A woman introduced me to the IRC, and I put together a proposal. 

Making art together can help build bridges between refugees and communities. With the amount of trauma many people have experienced, painting can help people work through their emotions. It can reconnect people to their homeland and the things that they had to leave behind. And it can also help people connect with their current home. 

Q: What is your favorite part of being a volunteer for the IRC San Diego? Has anything surprised you about the organization? 

It’s a 2-hour class, and sometimes we don’t have common language. We have people from so many different countries, so we face language barriers. One night, there was a woman that came with her 10-month baby that she was holding with one hand, and painting with the other. I asked if I could hold her baby to help her, I held her son so she could paint with both hands. The boy was so friendly, and she was able to spend the evening painting away. This is community, she trusted me to hold him, which showed she felt safe in this space. A lot of people coming into the country are used to having a community around them, this program can build that.  

Q: How has this experience affected your daily life or perspective?  

It changes my daily life, because I spend a lot of time preparing each project. I feel privileged to be in a position that I can do this. I teach, sell at galleries, and I am able to support myself with my art. This program has taught me how similar people are, no matter their culture or origin, the creative process, joy, and the pride of making something is universal. It surprises me how much I take it for granted, the concerns that I don’t have, that I know other people are facing and just how resilient people are. A WRC staff member told me, “All the women have been victimized in some way or another while they were in their own countries”. Even with all this additional pressure on people, these women come to the class chatting and smiling. The strength of the human spirit is impressive. 

Q: How has this project developed over your year at the WRC? 

The IRC has been willing to adjust, accommodate, respond to concerns or questions we had. We started out all crammed into one room, and sometimes it got to be a lot with the women and the kids. If there were a lot of kids, and some of them didn't want to do art, there's a space where they can go play. It was a bit chaotic at first and we were able to expand to a second classroom so that people who were doing art can be there, and if there's kids who after an hour, are done and want to go and play, they can do that. So maybe how it started out was more chaotic than I expected, but the IRC has been so willing to work with us, to make it successful, to where now it feels smoother. It feels like, okay, we got this. 

Q: What would you say to someone who was thinking about volunteering with IRC San Diego? 
 

That you will get back so much more than you give. None of us as individuals can change the world but we can do one little thing that helps some people in our immediate area. 

______________________________________________________________

We are so grateful to Marjorie for taking the time to meet with us, and for all the work she has dedicated to volunteering with IRC San Diego and the Women’s Resilience Center. Volunteers like Marjorie make the work of IRC San Diego possible and make a huge impact on our clients every day.