Tis the Season! SWAMIs Volunteer at The Road Home

DOWNTOWN SLC -- For the second consecutive year, members of the Race Swami swim club spent a day volunteering at The Road Home, a social services organization located on the western edge of downtown Salt Lake City. The Road Home is a private non-profit agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County. Their mission is to help people step out of homelessness and back into the community.

Led by Race Swami team parent Melanie Zamora, who serves as Director of Housing Programs at The Road Home, more than 25 Swamis and parents spent a few hours on Saturday, December 15th tending to bagging up new clothes, toys and gifts at Candy Cane Corner, a holiday store that provides a dignified and empowering opportunity for low-income families and individuals who are participating in programs at the YWCA of Salt Lake, The Road Home, and Volunteers of America, Utah to select new holiday gifts for their families.

Swamis picked out gifts for boys and girls ranging in ages from 6 months to 14 years old. Isabella Zamora, age 12 and daughter to Melanie, described her strategy in picking out meaningful gifts. "I wanted to pick out clothes and toys based on what I think kids my age--particularly girls--would like. It made it easy to decide with all these choices," she pointed out. "I felt like I might be in some small way responsible for putting a smile on another little girl's face on Christmas morning. It's kinda the whole spirit of Christmas."

Other Swamis described the feeling they got when they realized they were helping families out during the holiday season. "I just love to pitch in and help in whatever way I can," Marcela Vasquez, age 15, said. "And this is such a good thing they're doing here at The Road Home. Even with a busy Saturday scheduled, I just couldn't say no to helping out. This is why I love Race Swami so much--we try to make a difference."

"There really is more to the holiday season than receiving lots of presents," Swami co-founder Mary Chris Finnigan added. "So when our kids come down and take a tour of The Road Home and they understand why we're doing what we're doing... they get it. They physically see that not all families are in a position to buy whatever they want for their kids. And for our kids, giving of their time in a time like this means they're giving of the true meaning of the Holiday Season. We like that our kids understand this and that they can truly make a difference."

After bagging more than 30 sacks of gifts, the Swamis made their way back to The Road Home shelter two blocks away. They took a tour of the facility with Melanie Zamora. "I like that our Swami families get see that it's not a place of gloom and doom---where they just check into the shelter and never leave," Melanie said. "We stress the return of families to independent living as quickly as possible. We provide programs and services that help. The fact is, this model has proven to be a practical means to ending and preventing family homelessness for over 20 years. As a community, we are learning more and more about homelessness. Sharing knowledge and the impacts of our work is important."

Race Swami vows to continue working with The Road Home throughout the year for a number of occasions. "Helping our the neediest doesn't just happen during the holiday season," Melanie said. "We can help every day of the year."