Junior Erin Lerch volunteers at the Crisis Nursery
Whether it’s through RKVC, a discipleship class, or just by personal choice, most BSM students will volunteer at some point in their career as a Red Knight. However, Junior Erin Lerch exceeds these expectations with her service.
Junior Erin Lerch takes time once a week to volunteer with the Crisis Nursery.
October 13, 2016
For the past year, Lerch has been volunteering her time each weekend as a child care volunteer at the Crisis Nursery in Minneapolis. Impoverished children up to six years old will stay overnight for three days at the nursery taking part in different activities and learning how to stay positive in their situations. “The Crisis Nursery is a place that parents or guardians can drop off their kids when they don’t feel like their home situation is safe or when they have to figure things out for themselves,” Lerch said.
As a child care volunteer, Lerch has her own group of kids she manages, along with a staff member that helps her out. “I have the nap time shift, so I first will play outside with them and then I’ll put them down for naptime, which can sometimes be hard, and then we serve them lunch,” Lerch said.
Lerch’s work at the nursery can be tiring, but she says that the kids make up for it. “The kids are all from ages zero to six years old, but they all know how to whip and nae-nae and dab and stuff. We have a lot of dance parties and we’ll play ‘Watch Me Whip‘ over the speakers and it’s pretty cute,” Lerch said.
For any student, volunteering may not always seem like the ideal way to spend your Sunday morning. “Sometimes I don’t want to get up in the morning and go, but then I know that I need to be there for the kids. And then after I leave, I always just feel way better about myself and the life that I have, because these kids are going through so much and they can be positive about their tough situation, so I keep that in mind when I’m going through hard stuff,” Lerch said.
Lerch plans to continue her work at the Crisis Nursery throughout high school. Volunteering has become more than just credit for her grades; she sees her service as impactful work that is important to the children that come to the Crisis Nursery. “The kids are all so young and sometimes they don’t really know what’s going on with their home life, and they can have a really hard time expressing what they’re feeling, but they still can find a way to smile and be positive, and they’re like the funniest kids I’ve ever met in my life,” Lerch said.
