5 minute read
FEATURE
Raising People Up,
One Community at a Time
Izzie Hibey was raised to serve.
When she was little, she and her brother would buckle into the back seat of their grandma’s car and travel door to door, helping with her Meals on Wheels deliveries. “We would run the meals up to the elderly people’s doors,” Izzie said. “I remember feeling good after I made each delivery and it was a feeling that I wanted to keep.” So she seized every opportunity to feed that passion, even under her own roof. The second of six children, she often helps with household chores, babysits younger siblings, and now drives her siblings to their many activities. “My parents and my family do so much for me that I’m happy to help out as much as I can,” she said. When Izzie got to high school, she learned even more about the importance of service and discovered a multitude of ways to give back that provided her that same good feeling she experienced with Meals on Wheels. “From the beginning, Cor Jesu taught me that service isn’t something you do to complete a requirement. Service is about finding something you are passionate about,” Izzie said. “I have learned that service should be from your heart.” At Cor Jesu, she joined the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, an organization with four pillars, service being one of them. She also serves the school as an Admissions Ambassador and High School Night team member, and participates in Service Saturdays as well as fundraising events such as Penny Queen and Funderwear. Most notably, Izzie took charge of Cor Jesu’s volunteer program at Our Lady of Guadalupe School (OLG) in Ferguson, Mo. “I started going to Our Lady of Guadalupe during my sophomore year with Allison Fields ‘21, who was a senior in charge of the program at the time,” Izzie said. “I saw how connected Allison was with the kids there and I started to get that good feeling again. When she graduated, I wanted to get more involved and be sure the program continued.” Izzie has kept the program alive, visiting Our Lady of Guadalupe every Thursday afternoon. She has also opened the opportunity for other Cor Jesu students to join her. At OLG, she leads the students’ Adventure Time. “We usually work on craft projects, and I try to make them relevant to the time of the year,” Izzie said. “Adventure Time is the kids’ break from school and we always have so much fun. I love knowing that I can bring some joy to these students each week.” Through her service, Izzie discovered another passion.
FEATURE “I hope to be a teacher when I graduate college and volunteering at Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to confirm that for me,” she said. “I think teachers make a really important impact, and I want to be someone that impacts other people’s lives in a positive way.” While she hopes to make an impact on her students one day, Izzie is certainly not waiting to receive a college diploma to start making a difference. In addition to her work at home, school and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Izzie found another cause she cares about: homelessness. The summer after her freshman year at CJA (summer 2020), Izzie participated in the YMCA’s Change Agent program, a global leadership development program to empower young leaders as change makers in their own communities. As part of the program, participants choose a topic and write a mission statement about how they will create change within that realm. Then, they are challenged to act on it. Izzie chose homelessness, which led her to the St. Joseph Housing Initiative (SJHI).
As a faith-based organization, St. Joseph Housing Initiative’s mission is to create vibrant communities through affordable quality housing where low and moderate income families can thrive, prosper and build wealth. Since starting with SJHI in 2020, Izzie volunteers with the organization approximately twice per month, depending on the need. “I volunteer as much as I am able,” Izzie said. “Every time I go, usually on Saturdays, I feel like I’m part of the community.” The main job for volunteers is to help clean up the homes that will be purchased by one of SJHI’s clients. Work includes raking leaves, picking weeds, cleaning up trash, putting up fences, cleaning windows, scrubbing floors, and any other maintenance that is necessary to turn the house into a home. “I remember volunteering right before Thanksgiving,” Izzie said. “We were cleaning a house for a big family, like mine, to move into before the holiday. They had five kids. At some point during the day, it hit me how important this work was. I have been blessed to always get to celebrate holidays in my home with my family, and there we were, literally preparing this house to become the home that this family would make memories in together. I realized how special that was.” Inspired—and motivated—by her experiences, Izzie plans to continue her volunteer work with Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joseph Housing Initiative through her senior year and beyond. “I see myself working with SJHI for a long time,” Izzie said. “I want to volunteer when I’m home throughout college, and right now I’m working with the Initiative to create a Youth Board to connect more high schoolers with volunteer opportunities.” She even hopes to continue volunteering after college. “Becoming a teacher will allow me to fully invest in volunteer work during the summers when I’m off school, which is exciting to me.” No matter where she ends up, it is safe to say that Izzie will continue to make a difference, raising each one of her communities up in a very special way.
