By Jenna Binsley
Nonprofit Management Specialist
We’re excited to welcome back familiar faces as part of our team and staff. It’s important to the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown to create opportunities for young adults in the community to grow in their leadership skills and their faith. Our volunteers came back year-after-year because of our great volunteer opportunities and hands-on experience within a nonprofit.
It’s because of our diverse programs and ministries that we're able to craft unique learning experiences that match each student’s future career goals. It’s because of our hands-on and career-oriented volunteer program that we’ve worked with students from Youngstown State University, Kent State University, Walsh University, and John Carroll University, as well as many others in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania. These volunteer partnerships not only benefit students, they also help our ministries to grow and discover new ideas to better serve our clients.
Students connect with our mission of meeting the most critical needs of God’s people, and they keep coming back to serve. This summer we welcome back five of our dedicated young adult members: Melissa Baker, Jenne Battaglia, Jenna Binsley, Melissa Dahman and Marta Hergenrother.
Melissa Baker is our current AmeriCorps Member and has been a tremendous help to all of our programs. Melissa graduated from the Ohio State University with her Bachelor of Science in 2019, where she was active in campus ministry. It was her involvement with campus ministry that inspired Melissa to live out the gospel by serving as a full-time counselor at the Catholic Youth Summer Camp in Centerburg. Melissa continued to live out her faith as she became our AmeriCorps Member last summer. Her experiences have brought a lot of joy to children served by our ministries through such activities as after-school tutoring. We’ll miss her when her term ends this July, but we know she’ll continue to spread the Word in her future endeavors.
Melissa says, "Working with Ursuline Ministries is fulfilling. It has allowed me to see the value of serving in one's community and the importance of building relationships.” She is “excited to continue this work through the summer with our program in the Immigrant Outreach Community children. Providing our program 'virtually' may require extra creativity, but it is a challenge worth taking. We get to continue to support the kids in mentorship, learning and unforgettable fun!"
Jenne Battaglia has served our ministries for over eight years, being an active member of our Young Adult Ministry and Beatitude House Immigrant Outreach Program. She graduated from Youngstown State University in 2016 with her Bachelor of Science in Education. After graduation, Jenne wanted to continue making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate and became a part of Teach America. She taught students in impoverished school districts in Kinston, North Carolina, and Columbus. She recently moved back to the area and starting this summer will be the Child Wellness Coordinator for our Beatitude House ministry.
Jenne's background in teaching and extensive ministry volunteering will be assets as she assists our families meeting their immediate health and food needs. We look forward to seeing all the great things Jenne will be able to do for our families in her position.
Regarding her service with our ministries, Jenne says it “has shown me the persistence, consistency, and compassionate values needed when serving others in the community. It has brought hope to work with others from different generations all coming together for one mission.”
Our ministries and volunteer programs provided Jenne “opportunities to learn more about myself and the inequities that many are confronted with on a daily basis.”
Jenna Binsley has been an active part of the Ursuline Ministries since she was 15 and has been a core team member of the Summer Service Learning Program for three years. Jenna is a senior at YSU majoring in Marketing and double minoring in Advertising & Public Relations and Nonprofit Leadership. On campus, Jenna is part of the Honors College, Vice President of Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society, President of the Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter, and Secretary of the Student Nonprofit Leadership Organization. She also is a John D. Beeghly Fellows at the Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU, where she helps connect small businesses to opportunities.
This summer we welcome Jenna on our team as a Nonprofit Management Specialist. Jenna will lend her marketing skills in Mission Advancement and assist in the planning and organization of the Beatitude House Summer Learning Program for children in the ministry.
Jenna observes, "My service with Beatitude House and the Ursuline Ministries has been one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences.”
Beatitude House Immigrant Outreach and Summer Service Learning programs have been two of her favorite ministries to work with. Her favorite part of the Summer Service Learning Program “is when all the families come out to my house for a picnic and fishing, I'm blessed to be able to provide a fun day to relax and create a memorable experience!"
Melissa Dahman and her family members are wonderful supporters of our ministries, and we are excited to have Melissa volunteer with us while she’s home from college this summer. Melissa is a sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., studying Sociology, with a minor in Education and Spanish. Melissa’s passion for creating social change and equality has led her to her current position as the Vice President of the District of Columbia College Democrats.
Since she was 14 years old, Melissa has volunteered with the ministries and has dedicated her time to our children’s ministries. Her favorite part is “making crafts with the kids. Seeing their creativity and love brightens my day.”
This summer she looks forward to seeing the kids adjust and drawing on her video editing skills to prepare tutorials for the science experiments and crafts.
Marta Hergenrother has been an asset to our Beatitude House Immigrant Outreach Program since 2016. She’s served on its Summer Learning Planning and After School Tutoring core teams.
Marta graduated from YSU this spring semester with her Bachelor's in Psychology. During her time at YSU, Marta was active in the Honors College, Middle Eastern, African American or Black, Latino or Latina, Asian or Pacific Islander, International, Native American [M.A.L.A.I.N.A.] student organization, and led the student organization PAYO [Poverty Awareness in Youngstown Ohio].
Marta continues her journey helping others and the Ursuline Sisters' Ministries as our next AmeriCorps member this September. She'll be working directly with Ursuline Ministries President Bridget Kennedy.
When asked what volunteering with the Ursuline Sisters means to her, Marta shares, “Volunteering with the Ursuline Sisters has broadened my horizons in so many ways. It has helped me form relationships with so many people who have become my friends, learn about different strategies to help others, and learn about myself. The people the Sisters serve, as well as the Sisters, have truly impacted my life through helping me discover possible career paths and passions."
St. Angela, we ask that you guide these young adults as they serve our most vulnerable. Bless them with compassion, strength and courage as they live out the mission of the Ursuline Sisters.