During the heart of the pandemic, Elaine S. was searching for community-based volunteer opportunities; however, few organizations were accepting new, in-person volunteers at the time. In February of 2021, a friend told Elaine about the National Runaway Safeline (NRS) and our remote training and volunteer shifts, and Elaine eagerly got involved. She was taking a gap year between high school and college and wanted to use this time to help others.  

Through her experience with NRS, Elaine has learned about the magnitude of the youth homelessness crisis as well as the mental health issues that so many young people are facing today. She says the volunteer training taught her valuable skills, such as non-judgmental listening, which she tries to apply to her daily interactions with friends, family, professors, peers and strangers. Elaine finds that her experiences with NRS are helping her be more understanding and compassionate. 

Today, as a sophomore at Dartmouth, Elaine participates in a peer support group that provides mental health resources to students and encourages open and honest discussion about the challenges students are facing. She also volunteers with Dream, a nonprofit that brings mentoring programs to kids living in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley area.   

Elaine is studying environmental studies and is a member of Dartmouth’s club tennis team. She hopes to eventually work in clean energy. 

We appreciate Elaine’s commitment to NRS and are pleased to honor her as the Volunteer of the Month for March 2023!