Team Care Force- Georgia Lawrence

Team Care Force
Senior Corps Member,
Georgia Lawrence

Each week we will post a new "Care Force Chronicle" detailing one of our service events that Care Force will lead this year, written by a member of the senior corps. We will also be posting a short personal bio so you can read a little more about each of the senior corps members. This week's bio covers Georgia Lawrence, as she has written the Care Force Chronicle covering the Aramark event in St. Louis, Missouri.

Georgia Lawrence

My name is Georgia Lawrence and I am 23 years old. I was born in Plymouth, England, and after moving to the US when I was three, I lived in Middletown, Rhode Island. I attended Bryn Mawr College, a small, liberal arts school outside of Philadelphia and graduated in May 2009. During college, I learned the power of community service and developed a passion for social justice. The summer after my freshman year, I worked as the director of the children’s summer program at a women’s shelter in my hometown. I was in charge of providing fun and educational activities each week for the children living with their mothers at the shelter. While I had grown up only a few miles away from the kids I worked with, I quickly realized that they faced challenges and obstacles that I had never experienced. The instability of homelessness impacted every aspect of their lives and I found that providing positive guidance and extracurricular programs could make a real difference to each child. This experience inspired me to continue to work with children living in poverty. While at school, I continued to help low-income students by coordinating mentoring programs at local elementary schools around my university.

When it came time to apply for jobs after college, I remembered City Year and the energetic team of corps members that had worked in my own elementary school. I knew I wanted to continue working with underserved students. Having been on a trip to New Orleans to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina, I decided to work with City Year Louisiana. I became a part of a Whole School Whole Child team at an elementary school in Baton Rouge. I spent the school days tutoring kindergarten students and then organized afterschool programs and homework help sessions with my team of fellow corps members.

While I enjoyed my time working in the schools, participating in physical service projects with the City Year corps was the most inspirational part of my year. I loved the work we completed, such as painting houses, building benches, and creating murals. I also enjoyed engaging community volunteers during projects. It was incredibly meaningful to see diverse groups of people come together to physically transform a school or neighborhood. As a member of Team Care Force, I am able to continue to lead volunteers in service projects and I now have the opportunity to travel all over the country! I love to visit and explore new cities and communities. I am learning how to effectively manage service projects and I’m improving my abilities in public speaking. As my year with Care Force continues, I am looking forward to working with corporate partners and learning about how they can positively impact low-income communities.