Hello! Welcome back to Bella Vita’s blogs! With everything going on in our country and our world, it’s nice to sit down and reflect on who we want in our next blog. Like most weeks, we have a list of people that we want to reach out to, and this week, it was a no brainer on who we should ask. Teachers are some of the most selfless, giving, caring individuals in our world. Their goals and ambitions are in seeing their students succeed in life, and that’s exactly what this volunteer does for Bella Vita. She has been a volunteer since the beginning, she was one of the first people to do any of our trainings, and she is a kindergarten teacher at Knox Community Elementary School. Everyone, we would like to introduce you to Meda Sullivan!
You may have heard or know Meda Sullivan through the various things she does in our community. Mrs. Sullivan is one of the kindergarten teachers at Knox Community Elementary School and she absolutely loves her job! Mrs. Sullivan is not the only teacher in her family. It turns out that her husband is the graphics teacher at the high school, her daughter works at the middle school, and her son is a Sylvan teacher. Mrs. Sullivan is also the awesome grandma to four grandchildren that she loves dearly. Everything Mrs. Sullivan does is out of love for others. You can see it when she’s teaching her kindergarten class or when she’s counseling one of our clients or when she’s just out in the community.
When Bella Vita first opened back in 2010, we were in desperate need of volunteers. We needed help with counseling, maintaining the house we were in, help at our events, office work, and so many other tasks. Mrs. Sullivan told us that she had heard about the mission of Bella Vita and had seen our advertisements, but wasn’t sure if she would be a good fit. That is until she was at church one Sunday and saw in the bulletin that there was a call-out for volunteers needed at Bella Vita. Mrs. Sullivan remembers leaning over to Dr. Brown and asking him if he thought she could help Bella Vita. Lucky for us, Dr. Brown encouraged Mrs. Sullivan to try it out and that he thought she would be great. Dr. Brown wasn’t wrong! Since she started, Mrs. Sullivan has done a fantastic job at every task we have given her. Mrs. Sullivan was actually one of the first people to go through our volunteer training and soon became one of our first volunteers! How many people can say that they were one of the first and still love to volunteer ten years later?
Over these past ten years, Mrs. Sullivan has been a counselor to many any of our clients, she had a key so she could go in and clean, willing helped with doing laundry or whatever task needed to be done around the facility, and she would sometimes open or close Bella Vita. At one point in time, she even ran a Bible study at Bella Vita. Currently, Mrs. Sullivan teaches one of our parenting classes that our clients can take. In this class, our clients will learn how to prepare for the baby, what happens during and after pregnancy, and then what to expect when the baby comes.
Because Mrs. Sullivan is one of our longest-standing volunteers, we asked her what she liked best about Bella Vita that keeps her coming back. She told us, “I love how they can talk with them (clients) one on one. Someone at Bella Vita is always available and willing to help. The one thing that I think I love most is that Bella Vita never judges anyone who comes in.” Mrs. Sullivan went on to talk about how even though Bella Vita is a faith-based nonprofit organization, they never push our faith onto their clients. Instead, they work it in so that the clients know that there is a Heavenly Father above who loves them unconditionally.
We asked Mrs. Sullivan if she thought that she would be a good volunteer at Bella Vita because she is a teacher, and she said, “Yes! One of the reasons I became a volunteer was because I felt like I could be a good listening ear. I actually think my years of teaching and being involved in the community through the school gave me a different way to help our clients than the other counselors.” Even if Mrs. Sullivan knew someone there, she wouldn’t acknowledge it. Instead, she would open the space for them to feel free to say something, and she always felt like the clients trusted her because of it. While working with Mrs. Sullivan, we discovered that she is an extremely humble woman with an amazing heart! Mrs. Sullivan doesn’t like to brag about herself, but she has done a fantastic job over the years of using her talents for the benefit of Bella Vita. And sometimes she uses the talents when she’s not even in town or at Bella Vita. Mrs. Sullivan told us about a time when her daughter-in-law was in the hospital giving birth, and she randomly bumped into a young woman. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I was able to get her the help she needed and helped her with a major decision that she needed to make. She had no idea who I was but still asked if she could talk to me. All I did was listen to her because that’s all she needed.” How amazing is this woman?
When we asked how others can help Bella Vita, Mrs. Sullivan said, “Even the simplest little things can help! Donate clothes or other items, buy that bag of diapers that’s on sale, offering to help with laundry, talk about Bella Vita, be a counselor, help watch kids while their parents are in class, and the list goes on. Just come in and see where it leads you!” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves! Volunteering is not always coming into the facility but simply donating something you no longer need or found on sale. Anyone can help, and everyone can help if their willing to take that first step. Mrs. Sullivan went on to say that you never know what could happen until you try. Call Bella Vita today and see what you can kind of volunteering you can do.
Ten years is a long time to do anything, so we asked Mrs. Sullivan what she has gotten out of volunteering at Bella Vita over the years. “Peace of mind, a sense that if I have helped one person, then I have made a difference. It’s easy to take, and sometimes it’s hard to give, but it sure feels good when I see the success of a client. To watch them accept their child, grow to love that baby, and watch as they raise their child. There’s no better feeling!” Over these past ten years, Mrs. Sullivan has seen her fair share of clients but still gets excited when new ones come. We asked her what she would say to those who are going through their own pregnancy journey and are thinking they may want to go into Bella Vita. “Please take the first step and come in! See what Bell Vita is all about! I know you’ll be welcomed and find some peace of mind. I know that with God’s help that they can do it! They can get the help they need. If you’re going through an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy or a planned pregnancy, you have more strength and support than you realize! It’s okay need to ask for help because I know Bella Vita will support you in any way they can.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Like always, we love bragging about the amazing men and women who do so much for Bella Vita. Meda Sullivan is a true treasure, and we can never repay her for everything she’s done for us over these past ten years! We love her willingness to work on any task, and the way she’s willing to serve our clients is inspirational. Michael Morpurgo once said, “It’s the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.” That is so true of Meda Sullivan! Everything she and all of our other volunteers do makes a difference at Bella Vita. We hope that you have grown to appreciate and love this woman as much as we have! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this blog. Until next time, stay safe and healthy! We’ll have a new blog ready for you in two weeks.