{"id":872,"date":"2024-01-03T17:40:35","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T22:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/?p=872"},"modified":"2024-01-19T15:27:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T20:27:03","slug":"volunteer-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/2024\/01\/03\/volunteer-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer Spotlight: Amber Boissonneault"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volunteer Spotlight<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We caught up with Amber Boissonneault, a volunteer and supporter of Kids In Crisis. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

How did you hear about Kids In Crisis?<\/h4>\n

I learned about Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis when I moved to Greenwich (from Manhattan, with my husband Jim Kramer, and kindergartner son, Charlie). I met Kristen Forlini, who is\u202fvery involved\u202fwith nonprofits in town. We served on one committee together, which I enjoyed. She then invited me to join the Spring Gala committee, and\u202fthat’s\u202fhow I got to know Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m currently\u202fco-chairing the 2024 Spring Gala with Sean McMurty, which is so much fun, but I do prefer to be more hands-on. During one of my visits, I noticed the campus grounds needed a little TLC.\u202fMy mom is an outstanding gardener, so I caught the gardening bug from her. With the knowledge I learned growing up surrounded by beautiful gardens, I started working on creating a space full of plants and shrubs to attract\u202fbirds, butterflies, and insects.\u202f The curiosities of a garden are great for kids, and I also think it\u2019s fun for staff to see the transformation.\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Working in a garden is also a social experience for me, even when\u202fI’m\u202fdoing it at home. Everyone in the neighborhood is going for a walk, and they stop and talk. The same happens here at Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis, where I can meet everyone. And in passing, we chat say “hi” and I get to know everyone’s name and their role with the organization.\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I was connected with Andy Gill, who is so fantastic.\u202f Together with Andy, we choose about an hour a week when I can do something garden-related with the residents.\u202f We try and plan something seasonal and I usually let the resident\u2019s vibe direct the time together.\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON VOLUNTEERING\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Andy and I had planned a day over the summer to plant flowers, but it was just too hot to garden. I noticed one of the kids was interested in the herb garden, so we picked some mint and some lemon thyme and brought it inside. The kids had a blast making mint lemonade slushies.\u202f And it was just a super\u202ffun\u202fexperience and a nice break for the kids. It was a nice break for the counselors, too!\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The vegetable garden was beautiful and plentiful this year. There were tons of cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and string beans. During my weekly visits to the garden with the kids, they were more interested in\u202fthe vegetables\u202fthan\u202fthe flowers. “So, what should we do with those vegetables?” I asked them. And\u202fthat’s\u202fhow I got started cooking with the kids. We made parmesan roasted zucchini, tomato & basil & mozzarella salad, cucumber salsa and lots more.\u202f \u202fIt was a fun way to expose them to\u202f\u202fflavors\u202fthey\u202fhadn’t\u202fexperienced before.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When the fall season arrived and the garden was quiet, Andy and I discussed garden-related activities we could continue throughout the year.\u202f For Halloween, I brought in some pumpkins and spent the afternoon carving with the kids and counselors.\u202f It was great to watch the kids who had never carved a pumpkin carve their first masterpiece.\u202f Around Thanksgiving, I brought in a bunch of cut flowers and vases.\u202f Because many of the kids were going home for Thanksgiving, they made flower arrangements to place on their dinner table.\u202f \u202fIt was so surprising to see which kids connected.\u202f\u202fThere was a young boy who just absolutely loved making the arrangements; he did such a beautiful job and was totally connected to it.\u202fThat’s\u202fbeen fun for me to watch, and\u202fit’s\u202falso great because the counselors enjoy the activity as well.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

While I garden during my free time, I also do impromptu activities with the kids when they have free time outside.\u202f \u202fSome of the kids staying at the shelter\u202fdon’t\u202fspeak English. One girl saw me\u202fweeding, and I could see she was curious. And I said, “Do you want to join me?” A counselor helped us communicate and it turned out she also loves to garden so she spent about an hour\u202fweeding\u202fwith me. We\u202fcouldn’t\u202ftalk to each other but just enjoyed the therapeutic experience of digging in the dirt. Being here at Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis has led to so many things. I have had such great experiences with the kids. I love it. It absolutely fills my soul.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/em>I came in not knowing anything about Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis, and it can feel like such a veiled nonprofit. I can appreciate why, but I wish more people could see the amazing work happening here.\u202f The kids never tell me why\u202fthey’re\u202fat Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis, and I never ask.\u202fThere’s\u202fno reason I need to know.\u202fIt’s\u202fthose small moments that mean so much. And I wish more people knew about the impact Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis can make in a child\u2019s life.\u202f<\/em>\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In our chat with Amber Boissonneault, her passion and commitment shone so brightly. From rejuvenating the shelter’s gardens to cooking with the kids, Amber’s journey is a beautiful illustration of the power of volunteer work. She reminds us that the small moments – a shared smile over a garden-fresh meal or the silent camaraderie of gardening – can make a profound impact. Her story is an open invitation to anyone looking to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children. By joining Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis,\u202fyou’re\u202fnot just volunteering;\u202fyou’re\u202fbecoming part of a community that celebrates every small victory and cherishes every moment of connection. Your involvement could turn into a life-changing experience, not just for the kids you help but for you as well.<\/p>\n

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON VOLUNTEERING\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volunteer Spotlight We caught up with Amber Boissonneault, a volunteer and supporter of Kids In Crisis. \u00a0\u00a0 How did you hear about Kids In Crisis? I learned about Kids\u202fIn\u202fCrisis when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-volunteer"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsincrisis.org\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}