Meet Vanessa Wilmot

2009-07-05T19:22:00.001-07:00

Do you ever wonder who the heroes are in your own community that perform truly selfless acts? Meet Vanessa Wilmot. Vanessa was raised in Seattle, Washington. She is close with her family and enjoys making refrigerator magnets in her spare time. Vanessa grew up volunteering and continued volunteering as an adult through Americore. Americore is a lot like the Peace Core except that the work is done here in America. Vanessa is passionate about the education system and social services. Through Americore she worked in the school system in Lacey, Washington for about a year.

Vanessa is passionate about helping children and volunteering in her community. When she talks about the work she has done with kids, her eyes light up and she gets a big grin on her face.

After Americore, Vanessa worked in social services for a few years. Then she decided to use a stipend from Americore to go to the Philippines to volunteer at a boy's club. The Philippines are a group of more than 7,000 islands in Southeast Asia. It is actually the world’s 12th most populous country. The Philippines had a booming economy in the 1980s until they suffered an economic crash. Though things have gotten better over the past few years, the poverty level still remains alarmingly high. The average worker in the Philippines makes about $1,000 a year. Comparatively, the average worker in the United States makes about $30,000 a year. Vanessa stayed in a house of a family who are doing well financially compared to other families. Even so, there were about 15 adults staying in a modest house and the house did not have a shower or an oven. The family would bathe using a bucket. The work Vanessa did there opened up her eyes to the world outside America and strengthened her passion for education and social services. She saw the poverty stricken streets and the attention deprived boys. Her activities with the boys brightened their lives and brought smiles to their faces. Vanessa taught the boys math and English, along with trips such as camping and going to the beach. Overall though, she spent a lot of quality time getting to know the kids, as attention is what they needed most.

Vanessa has only been back from the Philippines for two weeks now, but she is already thinking about her future in volunteering and working in education and social services. I ask her about her future and she beams with happiness as she explains wanting to be a foster parent someday. She also dreams of returning to the Philippines. She stays in touch with many of the boys using Skype.

Just talking to Vanessa will put you in a better mood. Even more than that, talking to her makes you want to be a better person.