Coming from modest beginnings, I did not have the chance to indulge in many extracurricular activities as a child. While I dabbled in a few, my family was not able to financially afford the costly expenses of activities such as ballet or music lessons. With the exception of my phenomenal mother, not many in my family had gone to or finished college. Consequently, the careers I was exposed to as a child were quite limiting and uninspiring. Being a volunteer for Dream Outside the Box has allowed me to do for children what my family couldn’t circumstantially do for me.

Volunteering for Dream Outside the Box has allowed me to grow as a person and it has affirmed my purpose. As a volunteer I feel that the kids we work with give me as much as I give them. When a student runs up to with me with wide open arms and a jovial smile and says ‘I want to be just like you, I want to be a writer’ my heart is filled with indescribable joy and gratitude. Showing a child the promising nature of their voice and their ability has made volunteering incredibly fulfilling. Being a volunteer for Dream Outside the Box has allowed me to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud as well as see the many rainbows there are in this world.

Naomi S. Daugherty
May 31 2013