August Volunteer of the Month: Volunteer Who Goes Above and Beyond

By Jamey Sheesley

Amy Thomson is a volunteer who never quits. She is always there to help, whether it is with a project or to help another volunteer with his or her own personal issues. She also makes herself available to help multiple teams within Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence. 

“Her creative flow, her drive and her passion and willingness to challenge teammates is inspiring. That’s what sets her apart from other people. It is inspiring to see Amy grow from a blogger to where she is today,” according To Kristen Paruginog, Founder and CEO of BTSADV.  

Amy found BTSADV on Facebook a little over a year after she left her abuser. 

“One of the things that spoke to me as a survivor myself was the organization’s focus on providing after-care services to survivors and the fact that it was a safe space for survivors and a place to empower themselves to rebuild their lives.” 

Amy joined BTSADV in October 2016. The more she learned about the organization, the more she fell in love with it because of the work we do. That, in turn, inspired her to contribute financially on a re-occurring basis. Amy had been thinking of volunteering with a domestic violence group for some time and felt drawn to BTSADV because they felt like family. 

“Our organization name is more than just a label, it speaks directly to our purpose. Sharing our truths and experiences is powerful, because it allows us to take back our voice, share our stories on our own terms, and helps free us from the shame and isolation that thrive in silence.” 

She stayed with BTSADV because she believes in the work we do. Many domestic violence groups offer crisis services and BTSADV does not. We focus on the aftermath and that is where many need help because it can be challenging. Amy’s inspired by all of the volunteers at BTSADV, but she is really inspired with Kristen. 

“Our founder Kristen Faith inspires me in several ways. She is a compassionate, loving, generous, passionate human being who gives of herself tirelessly to others, and treats everyone like family.” 

Kristen actually reached out to Amy to be a part of the blog team after seeing Amy comment and communicate with many people on the Facebook page. Amy accepted and joined the blog team because she had been working on her own domestic violence blog that she started writing two months after she left her abuser, but she did not feel like she was doing enough.  

“Amy is always quick to respond and has a unique role where she has all these perspectives and she always goes beyond what the requirements are,” according to Meghan Mausteller, Blog Director. Even though she has moved on to the social media team she still finds time to write blogs and help the blog team out when she can. She even helps the current bloggers with the topics they are writing by helping them come up with different angles to write their topic on or just helping the bloggers get past their writers block. 

Brian Nyguyen, Director of Social Media, also ran across Amy on social media around three years ago. Amy always had an interest in Twitter so she shifted some of here focus from the blog team to become a Twitter Coordinator and a year and a half later Amy became Social Media Coordinator. “Amy is the left side of my brain, she makes sure social media is up and running. Overall, she has helped social media platform to what it is today,” says Brian. 

Amy also appreciates Brian because in the real world many times, managers may not be as driven and understanding as Brian. “Under Brian’s leadership, I have been able to grow my own skills and have benefitted from his example. He is a fun-loving, positive, passionate human being who lives his life with purpose,” says Amy. 

Brian, Kristen, and Meghan all agree that Amy wears many hats and that BTSADV would not be what it is without her. Not only does Amy go above and beyond with everything she does with BTSADV, but she is also one of the longest donors to BTSADV.