LIFT

After losing her job in March 2007, Maria Selamoglu was struggling to get back into the workforce. With no income and little savings due to a recent divorce, she was falling behind on her rent and utility payments. She found LIFT-Somerville and immediately began working with volunteers to update her résumé and expand her job search.  With LIFT-Somerville's assistance, she soon secured part-time work at Massachusetts General Hospital.

This past year, George Uwanawich became a victim of the foreclosure crisis that has swept through communities across the country. George was living as a tenant in a multi-unit house when he was received the news that what had seemed like a stable home was in the midst of foreclosure. He had gotten to know the volunteers at LIFT-Cambridge as a tax preparation client, so he immediately turned to them for help.

LIFT-Cambridge volunteer Liz Powers was hooked on serving people in her community from the first time she volunteered as a freshman with a local homeless shelter.  She became deeply invested in the needs of the people seeking refuge there and wanted to develop more meaningful, impactful relationships with them beyond serving breakfast a few hours a week.  After seeking out other programs, a professor recommended that she contact LIFT-Cambridge and she dove into volunteering immediately.  Three years later, diploma in hand, Liz is continuing to serve LIFT clients and the greater Cambridge community.

Chris Whitney first contacted LIFT on the advice of his friend, former LIFT-Cambridge Summer Director Hari Ramesh. Chris, a Vassar College sociology major, had "an interest in what makes people poor and what people who have more resources can do and do about poverty." He wanted to take his coursework in social welfare policy and education and apply it outside the classroom, and Hari’s account of his work with LIFT seemed to offer that opportunity. The former camp counselor and mentor for high school students in the Poughkeepsie community near Vassar was also intrigued by the opportunity to work with adult clients, saying, "Most college students only get to work with kids." Knowing he would make strong connections with experienced social workers at the Cambridge Multi-Service Center clinched his decision and soon Chris was headed to Cambridge to begin volunteering.

Swati Shah came to LIFT through a different avenue than most volunteers. Two years of working as an intern with a large banking firm gave Swati, an Economics and Community Health major, professional experience, but the opportunity to do something more hands-on was what attracted her to LIFT. "With LIFT, you feel a sense of your own power. There is no hierarchy because everyone is working toward the same goal. You become a leader, you’re making a difference, and you’re making a change that you can actually see." The Tufts University sophomore landed the position of Summer Director in the LIFT-Somerville Local Office and set to work bringing about that change.