Please meet Teresa Pierce-Robertson, a LoveOne Oregon City volunteer and often the first friendly face you will see when you walk through the door of the laundromat:
Occupation: Administrative Support
What might someone be surprised to know about you? I love to travel.
Which LoveOne initiative do you volunteer with? Oregon City
How did you first get involved with LoveOne? I saw a Facebook post from a friend sharing about the great volunteer opportunity they participated in. This opportunity excited me because it was in the evenings and I work full time.
What has surprised you most about working with LoveOne? The cost of washing clothes at a laundry mat and how big an impact that is on some of our most vulnerable neighbors’ budgets and ultimately their lives.
What is the single-most important takeaway from volunteering with LoveOne? There are a lot of organizations that provide services for our struggling neighbors, but I believe LoveOne is one of the only groups providing laundry service in most of the communities we serve. Laundry is truly a basic need people have. When they don’t have clean clothes, it can create a lot of emotion and shame in their lives.
What’s the hardest part about volunteering with LoveOne? Wishing I could do more for my neighbors who are hurting.
If you could change one thing about LoveOne, what would it be? LoveOne doesn’t need to change it only needs to be willing to grow to meet the needs of our neighbors. It may look differently at each site and with each volunteer group.
What do you wish other people knew about LoveOne? The great resource that it is and how many neighbors, not only homeless who don’t have access to a washer and dryer without visiting a laundry mat and how costly it can be.
Tell us about someone who has influenced your decision to work with LoveOne. Many months back we had a young family come in and they had to ride the bus to get to our event. It was a mom and two young children, dragging bags of laundry that needed washed. If I remember correctly they said it was a 45 min. bus ride to get to the laundry mat and they had to watch the time to ensure they could catch the last bus home.
What would you tell someone who is thinking about donating to or volunteering with LoveOne? This organization is about more than laundry. We want to help our neighbors in as many ways as possible with the limited resources we have. It’s about showing dignity and respect and encouraging when we can. It’s being a friendly person to people who are enduring challenging times. When you come and share of your time and resources you leave with more gratitude and understanding of your neighbors. You hear their stories, both the struggles and the triumphs.
What are you doing when you aren’t volunteering? I work full time and love being a grandma to my 4 amazing grandkids. I also have a love and passion for adventure and traveling.