Please say hello to Sarah Renee, our LoveOne Molalla Coordinator!
Occupation: Realtor with Equity Oregon
What might someone be surprised to know about you? I love eggnog chai, caramel frapps, peppermint ice cream, going to the beach anytime of year, going on adventures with my two girls, real estate and marketing, helping others and talking to cute babies.
How did you first get involved with LoveOne? I began asking a lot of questions about LoveOne at the beginning of this year and was able to start volunteering at Oregon City’s location in May.
What has surprised you most about working with LoveOne? The community excitement and involvement!
What is the single-most important takeaway from volunteering with LoveOne? Treat everyone you meet with the love and look for the potential that each of has. Assume nothing.
What’s the hardest part about volunteering with LoveOne? Explaining to others why we do this when they have never experienced serving at this level - it's difficult to put into words or make it real without the experience. Pride, judgment and humility are tough things to ask people to face.
If you could change one thing about LoveOne, what would it be? That we would be able to execute more than just laundry in each of our communities with the support and backing of each of our cities.
What do you wish other people knew about LoveOne? That this isn’t hard. Nor does it take much time - but the difference it makes is HUGE in that it gives hope and dignity to people.
Tell us about someone who has influenced your decision to work with LoveOne. Brandi Johnson is one of our Oregon City LoveOne coordinators and she has been my best friend since high school. I watched her be transformed by this over the past few years and that was infectious! It really made me take a seat and just listen to the difference serving people makes, and made me reevaluate where I put my time and money, especially when I saw so many who have nothing.
What would you tell someone who is thinking about donating to or volunteering with LoveOne? I would say take that step, get outside of your comfort zone, and watch how your perspective and community is changed by a single act of kindness.
What are you doing when you aren’t volunteering? I’m running around with my kids, planning more ways to get the community involved or finding ways that LoveOne can help, finding or selling houses for clients through Equity Oregon Real Estate. I love to take my kids hiking at Silver Falls, or go have fun at our local Fir Point Farms or WoodenShoe or Bauman Farms and we just LOVE our local Farmer’s Market here in Molalla at Hoffman House Antiques. We live in the perfect area for all kinds of adventures all year long!
What else can you tell me about LoveOne? We are a great group to get involved with! We desire to extend hope and dignity in our communities and we would love nothing more than to grow this to even more than it is. So please get in touch with one of our local coordinators and find a creative way to get involved!