After losing her job in the corporate world, Karin Freeland said that she found a higher purpose by serving her community.

Karin spent 15 years at a corporate job “chasing the paychecks, the titles, trying to get promoted,” as she described it. After being dismissed and moving to Greenville, South Carolina with her family, she wanted to make friends in a place where she knew no one and to connect with her new community. She discovered the Junior League of Greenville, a women’s advocacy organization that supports economic mobility and the cessation and education of human trafficking.

Much of Karin’s focus in her volunteerism is supporting and empowering women. “We deal with a lot of things that men and other groups don’t necessarily deal with, and I think it’s really important to help women this way and give them the best shot at living their dream life.”

One thing that Karin loves about working in Junior League is that they partner with different nonprofits within the given community. Two nonprofits that Karin has loved working with are the Cinderella Project and the Nearly New Shop.

The Cinderella Project is a nonprofit that donates like-new prom dresses and accessories to high schoolers from low-income families. Karin recalled a young girl who came in with her father and, noting the absence of a mother, gladly offered assistance to the girl. “She came out in this beautiful, yellow dress just bouncing, and looking so happy,” she said. “It’s just moments like that that are just so fulfilling.”

Nearly New Shop is a nonprofit that offers gently-used clothes and accessories at an affordable price. As she sorts and displays donated items, Karin enjoys stocking the floor with different bags and clothing and watching shoppers collect quality products. “I really get to see the fruits of my labor,” she said as she described witnessing women excitedly gather new clothes and seeing the impact that those articles had on them.

By volunteering, Karin learns more about the struggles within her own community. She acknowledged that she lives a great life and that it’s easy to forget that others struggle, but she also knows that volunteering has reminded her that she is a part of the solution. “It just helped me to open my eyes and really see all the things that are plaguing our communities and do something about it,” she said. Karin encourages others to volunteer in order to both help and understand their communities.

To hear more about Karin Freeland’s story, listen to her interview on our podcast.