For Heidi Siefkas, volunteering isn’t an add-on to life—it’s a way of staying grounded, connected, and present in it.
A four-time nonfiction author, TEDx speaker, and self-described adventurer, Heidi moved to Nashville in 2023 to care for her father and reconnect with a strong support system. That sense of community quickly became central to her life in a new city—and to how she chose to give back.
Since arriving in Nashville, Heidi has volunteered regularly with the Nashville Rescue Mission, primarily serving meals at the women and children’s center. Her work includes food prep, serving lunch, and cleanup—simple but essential roles that help keep the Mission running each day. “They serve hundreds of meals three times a day,” she shared with Megan McInnis on the Doing Good Podcast. “They couldn’t do it without volunteers filling in the gaps.”
For Heidi, soup kitchens have always felt like the most natural place to serve. “Everyone is there because everyone needs to eat,” she said. “It’s a place for gathering.” Volunteering around meals creates an immediate sense of connection—one that transcends background, circumstance, or labels.
Those connections have also reshaped her understanding of homelessness. While volunteering, Heidi has heard countless stories from people passing through the line—stories of illness, job loss, and unexpected medical bills. One woman shared that she had been a college-educated elementary school teacher for over 20 years before a health crisis changed everything. “It could happen to any of us,” Heidi reflected.
Her commitment to the Mission grew deeper through her writing. While researching a book on resilience, Heidi met Crystal Knight, a Nashville Rescue Mission graduate who overcame addiction and homelessness and is now a leader within the organization. By helping Crystal share her story, Heidi saw how volunteering can take many forms—sometimes through service, sometimes through storytelling, and sometimes through amplifying voices that deserve to be heard.
Heidi encourages others to rethink what volunteering looks like. It doesn’t require endless free time or grand gestures. “It can be as simple as a longer lunch break,” she said. Many employers even offer volunteer hours—opportunities she urges people to use.
Volunteering, Heidi believes, is an adventure in the truest sense: fully present, deeply human, and quietly transformative. And every time she leaves the Mission, she leaves changed—more grateful, more grounded, and more connected to the community around her.
Here’s to looking up—and showing up—together.
Click here to listen to Heidi’s episode of the Doing Good podcast.
Doing Good is a 501c3 nonprofit. www.doinggood.tv