Catholic Charities of Mattoon - Lindsey Eubank
I volunteered at Catholic Charities in Mattoon.  When I volunteered there I wasn't really sure what they offered or who they helped.  I learned that there is so much that they do there and that it takes a lot of hours and willing people to help keep that place running.  They only employ a few people and rely mostly on volunteers to get a lot of the work done.  I spent time there on a Saturday afternoon helping sort, tidy, and organize the thrift store.  There are loads and loads of donations that are brought to their warehouse and it takes many hours of sorting to find the items that are suitable to sell.  I worked with a group of people who were all volunteering for different reasons.  A few of the kids were there to gain confirmation hours and the others were there simply because they wanted to help out. We worked in the back room of the thrift store which holds anything and everything from furniture to clothes to holiday decor.  All of the people I worked with filled me in on how the shop usually runs and how they decide what stays and what goes.  At first I was concerned that they were throwing out things because they weren't name brand and couldn't charge much for them.  I thought that kind of defeated the purpose of running a thrift store to help people who struggle to buy these items at regular cost.  But then they explained to me that the items that are not thrown out but instead sent to a company that recycles them and they receive a small payment back for it.  This money goes on to help fund something else in a different area which will help benefit someone in need. 
Catholic Charities offers food stipens, help with filling out certain paperwork that will help people receive assistance, they have a food pantry, a thrift store, and they offer special packages for babies, just to name a few things that they do to help.  Catholic Charities also works with other organizations to refer people out to and for them to refer people to.  They work with so many different places to help find everything that people need and do their best to help those in need.  I worked with one of the supervisors and she was very helpful with explaining all the different tasks they perform their and how they benefit from so many donations and volunteers. 
I really enjoyed the experience and was highly impressed by the work that is done at Catholic Charities.  I would have never thought about going there and would still be in the dark about what they do there if it had not been for this assignment.  I think that this organization is very important to the community and helps more people than we realize.  It is an excellent way to provide assistance to people in need in so many different ways.  It was amazing the number of people who volunteer just because they want too.  Catholic Charities is a wonderful organization and I would highly recommend volunteering or donating to them because they make use of everything they have there and do their best to help everyone who needs any kind of assistance.