Volunteering with Thistle & Bee today, I had one of those rare moments where I felt like I was in the exact right place at the exact right time. I feel so fortunate to have connected with this organization. Kudos to Sarah Petschonek who matched us! Thistle & Bee is a non-profit startup that aids survivors of human trafficking through holistic workforce preparedness. As a startup, Thistle & Bee is currently developing their work program for survivors of human trafficking. The organization hires survivors of human trafficking to sell herb and honey products. Eventually their plan is for survivors, in addition to selling the product, to harvest the herbs from gardens and extract the honey from beekeeping. This gives women the opportunity to develop job skills during this pivotal transition in their life. This organization combines all of my passions, outdoor education, female empowerment, social work. I could go on and on, and I am thrilled to get started volunteering with them!
I spent the morning pulling weeds and harvesting mint and bee balm herbs with Eyleen Farmer, the founder, and Kristen Farmer, a member of the strategic planning team. As we kept our hands busy in the garden, we also kept our minds busy by discussing our backgrounds and sharing our ideas of how to best come together to grow Thistle & Bee. I am really excited to continue volunteering with Thistle & Bee as I feel they are at such an exciting point in their development. Every contribution, both of time and money, makes such an impact. With that in mind, I want to share with you all that next Saturday, August 6th, at 10 AM you can volunteer your time with Thistle & Bee. They are hosting an event called the Crumble Rumble where volunteers will be crumbling herbs to create teas and other products to sell. Check out the link below for more information and to sign up!
https://www.facebook.com/events/889659107826782/
As my week with Volunteer Odyssey is wrapping up, I feel so fortunate for this experience. Stay tuned for my last day of volunteering tomorrow!
