Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. – Helen Keller
Finding Fulfillment Through Volunteering: A Conversation with Mentor Katelyn Lohr
Volunteering includes saving a certain amount of your time, energy and heart without expecting anything in return. Volunteering is not just what you give back to others, but what the experience gives back to you! We sat down with one of BeaYOUtiful’s dedicated mentors, Katelyn Lohr, to hear more about why volunteering matters to her and the lessons she’s learned along the way being part of our community.
Adedayo Daibo (second from right) volunteering at a Calgary Confidence Workshop in Calgary, AB
Why is volunteering important to you personally?
That’s a good question. So for me, I would say that with my full time job– although I enjoy my full time job- there’s not as much emotional fulfillment with our full time work. So volunteering is that emotional fulfillment. And with BeaYOUtiful, it makes me feel like I’m making a difference in the world. I don’t always feel like I’m doing that in my work, but I do feel like I’m doing that with volunteering. As somebody who’s not a parent, being able to work with young girls and youth, and have that mentorship [as a] soul sister is really meaningful to me, because I don’t have children of my own. I still want to have an impact on the younger generation. So that’s a big piece of that emotional fulfillment.
What advice would you give to someone considering volunteering with BeaYOUtiful?
I would say everybody has their own unique story and experience. It’s all super valuable to be able to turn that into your mentorship and your involvement, and the group of leaders is super positive. I would encourage anybody who’s thinking about volunteering to absolutely do it because there are so many different programs that pertain to different people’s interests, strengths and experiences. Whether that’s a one day pop-up workshop, or if you have a bit more capacity to do something that’s longer, like a recurring six week program, there’s really something for everyone.
Everybody has just a unique perspective and experience that they can bring, that is totally different than somebody else. And it’s all super valuable!
In your experience, how does BeaYOUtiful create a safe and empowering environment for youth to express themselves?
I would say in the past, when girls my age were growing up and prior to that, the messaging in society was very different than what it is now. We have social media now, and that is an entirely different challenge and exposure that young girls have that they didn’t before. It really gives them a space to not have to conform to any ideal or any standard, and everybody is unique, validated and celebrated as they are.
In these workshops and programs, you truly you come as you are. You realize that there is so much beauty in the diversity and in the experience of everybody in the group showing up as themselves, not in a way that they have to perform to be anybody else but themselves.
That’s something I think that’s not common anymore, and when we come on to social media, everything is very curated and very algorithmic. These programs are really highlighting individualism and celebrating everybody for who they are.
"It's a true community of people that I haven't experienced before. It's really unique."
Confidence Workshop in action with Adedayo Daibo in Calgary, AB.
What have you learned about yourself through volunteering with BeaYOUtiful? Has it changed the way you show up in your own life?
Something that has been the most transformational for me, is just reflecting on my own journey when I was a child and what I would have been like in these programs, having a little bit of that inner child connection. I will say since being involved in BeaYOUtiful, I’ve had such a deep emotional connection to my younger self. I grew up as an only child. Although I enjoyed being an only child, I still struggled with a lot of loneliness and with different friendships and relationships. I’ve really been able to connect with that younger self, see maybe what she needed at that time, and been able to help young girls: be with them, laugh with them, encourage them.
In a lot of ways, I’m doing that for my younger self. So it’s been really emotional in terms of that reflection. That’s the strongest connection I’ve ever had with my younger self since being involved in BeaYOUtiful.
Is there a particular person or moment that inspired you to keep coming back?
I think both the young girls and the community are both major factors as to why I keep coming back. The young girls, maybe they might show up a little bit timid or a little bit shy- but the insight that they have to share, their understanding of the world, their understanding of themselves AND witnessing that is amazing? It’s so cute, it’s so powerful and it’s so inspiring—I love just seeing that moment and witnessing that because it’s only the beginning for them.
Then with the community, you immediately feel like you have a community rallying around you when you meet the other volunteers and all of the leaders with BeaYOUtiful. You meet somebody one time and you see them maybe again six months or a year later, and they remember you. They’re so excited to see you. It’s a true community of people that I haven’t experienced before. It’s really unique. Maybe it’s similar to what it’s like on a sports team or, or things like that, but it’s really special. The group of volunteers are so dedicated and everybody is there for a common goal: to help young girls and to help youth. It feels really special to have that connection with those people. So, equally the young girls and the youth and the community are both just inspiring in their ow unique ways.