Volunteer Spotlight
Xavier
Front Desk Volunteer - Volunteering at CFH since fall 2024
"I wanted to do something impactful for the local community, not just productive for myself."
When Xavier moved to South Bend, he wanted to find a way to give back to his new community. He explored several volunteer opportunities, but when he found the Center for the Homeless, something clicked.
Xavier began volunteering at the Center in fall 2024 and is now approaching two years of service. What started as a search for a meaningful way to spend his time has become a weekly commitment and a community he looks forward to being part of.
Fall 2024
Started volunteering
Weekly
Front desk commitment
Over 2 years
Of service
Showing up, week after week
For Xavier, impact isn’t always about being the person directly serving a guest. One of the most meaningful parts of his role is providing reliable coverage at the front desk, giving staff members the freedom to work on other things and step away when they need to.
That consistency has become one of Xavier’s greatest contributions. By showing up week after week, he helps create space for staff to do their work while ensuring guests are greeted by a familiar face. In fact, he has become familiar enough to earn a nickname of his own: “Mario,” after guests started calling him that when they noticed he'd shown up with a mustache.
Weather Amnesty
Weather Amnesty has also been a particularly meaningful part of his experience. During his first year, Xavier was nervous about the responsibility of helping guests navigate the program. But as he spent time sitting with people, helping with paperwork, and listening to their stories, that nervousness gave way to connection.
Sometimes a simple question on a form, like “How long have you been homeless?”, opens the door to a much deeper conversation.
Those experiences have helped Xavier challenge the social stigmas around homelessness. As he put it, “These people are exactly the same as me, just in an unlucky situation.”
What keeps him coming back
More than anything, though, it is the community that keeps Xavier coming back: the staff, the residents, and the sense of belonging he has found at the Center.
Advice for new volunteers
For anyone considering volunteering, Xavier encourages people not to be intimidated and to know that there are ways to start small while still making a difference. For him, that started with donation sorting. He began in the basement sorting clothes, which gave him a low-pressure way to get comfortable at the Center. Over time, he discovered that some of the most rewarding experiences came from roles that allowed him to interact with guests and staff.
His advice is simple: start somewhere, show up, and don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone.
After over two years at the Center, Xavier has become a familiar and dependable presence. His story is a reminder that meaningful volunteer impact doesn’t always come from one big moment. Sometimes, it comes from simply being there, week after week, and becoming part of a community.
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