BY ELIZABETH EGAN, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Every year, the Franciscan Center For Social Concern holds a Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. These donations make a significant impact on the organization’s ability to fund their numerous programs. The programs include The Warming House, Bona Buddies, Break the Bubble, SBU at the SPCA, Silver Wolves and more.
All of these programs do great work and while the monetary donations are crucial to their functions, so is the donation of time. These programs could not run without volunteers and for those interested in doing some volunteer work while on campus, there is no shortage of opportunity.
In the weeks leading up to Giving Tuesday one St. Bonaventure student who stands out as a particularly amazing volunteer will be featured in this series on Fridays. This week, that volunteer is Ryan Bauer.
Ryan, a sophomore Adolescence Education and History major from Pittsburgh,PA., volunteered at the Warming House, one of the nation’s oldest student run soup kitchens, every Tuesday for the entirety of his freshman year. He spent so much time there as a volunteer that he has now joined the staff of meal coordinators and works every Thursday.
Bauer learned about the Warming House by seeing it advertised on social media and on posters around campus. He started volunteering just a few weeks after arriving on campus. Tuesday was a day that needed more volunteers, and still does, so his availability aligned perfectly.
Volunteering was not new to Ryan. In high school he spent four years teaching CCD, a type of religion class, through his church. However, the Warming House was a completely different experience. Through his time at the Warming House Ryan got to learn about cooking and preparing meals for a crowd. There was also no shortage of his least favorite job, doing the dishes. Even though Ryan had to do significantly more dishes than any college student with a dining plan should expect to, he was always willing to do what needed to be done and never complained about the mountain of dirty dishes he would be presented with.
Ryan volunteered at the Warming House because he wanted to contribute to the community he was becoming a part of. His favorite part about the experience was being able to get off campus to do some good in the community. He was so dedicated to this mission that he took a day over the summer to drive back to Olean from Pittsburgh and set up a lending library. Warming House guests can take books from the library, and it includes a shelf full of kids books and coloring supplies for the young children that come into the Warming House.
To anyone thinking about getting involved with volunteering at the Warming House, Ryan says that it is much easier than it sounds and hardly feels like work. Ryan considers his time at the Warming House to be fun and a great opportunity to meet people he otherwise would not have met.
I had the pleasure of working with Ryan as both a volunteer and coordinator and can confidently say he is a fantastic volunteer and now co-worker, even when he thinks butter is a sauce. Fiona Nelson is another Warming House employee who has worked with Ryan for a long time. She said, “ Ryan took great initiative when first starting at the Warming House. He was able to find connections with both volunteers and guests that made the environment more of a family and less of a job.”
Another Warming House employee, Valentina Cossio, gave a glowing review of Ryan. She said, “Ryan understood and felt the essence of the Warming House as soon as he got there. He always strives to put forth the best product and service. He makes shifts at the Warming House incredibly fun and is a joy to work with, which shows that he truly enjoys being there.”
Thanks Ryan for all the time that you have donated to the Warming House! Interested in volunteering like Ryan? Check out the Franciscan Center For Social Concerns website for more information.
