Out of The Cold is a volunteer run organization in Halifax that provides the homeless with a warm place to stay during the winter.
Kelly Adamson has been volunteering there for four years, anywhere from 20 to 30 hours a week on top of a full time job.
“Whether it's making sure guests have what they need, making sure they've got their stuff ready for the day, making sure they've made connections in the community to help them out better,” says Shannon Aulenback, with Out of The Cold.
Shannon says Kelly has touched hundreds of lives.
“She likes to lead with her heart and she loves to be kind to everyone,” says Shannon. “She really does live that out in every aspect of her life, as far as I've seen, especially with the out of the cold shelter.”
Chris Hessian also volunteers with the shelter and says Kelly’s joy is contagious.
“It would be impossible to have an interaction with her and not walk away feeling like you're the most special person in the room,” says Chris.
Now that the weather is warmer, Kelly has been volunteering once a month at the Nova Institute for Women running a book club.
Chris and Kelly say they are planning on starting another book club at the Burnside facility.
“Kelly is a really hard worker, so I suspect it will be pretty easy because the two of us will just get it done,” says Chris.
Kelly says she's been volunteering for most of her life, thanks to her mom, and while she has little time for herself, she loves the time spent volunteering.
“It's taught me so much about myself and what I want and what I want to do. So as much as I give, I get so much more back in just personal growth and development and fulfillment and so that's why I keep doing it,” says Kelly.
Congratulations to the Kelly Adamson, our Maritimer of the Week.
If you know someone deserving of our Maritimer of the Week award, we want to hear about it.
It doesn’t matter how old they are, the nature of the good deed they’ve done, or what part of the region they live in — we want your ideas!
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Maritimer of the Week
P.O. Box 1653
Halifax, N.S.
B3J 2Z4
