Helping others has always been a part of Ed Light’s DNA. When Ed returned home to St. John’s after 33 years of living away, he immediately started looking for volunteer opportunities.
“I could do lots of hobbies at home, but if it’s not helping the community, it’s not as rewarding.”
Ed has volunteered weekly at Choices for Youth’s Outreach and Youth Engagement (OYE) Centre since 2022. He helps Chef Lois in the OYE Kitchen where they prepare hearty, nutritious meals for young people. Ed gets tremendous satisfaction from assisting the OYE team. He also appreciates getting to know the staff who support over 1,300 youth every year.
“I want to have that relationship. I think that’s important, even as a volunteer.”
Ed also takes pride in assisting with Choices for Youth’s larger goal of supporting vulnerable youth in his community. He sees himself as a background player, someone who helps when needed to bolster the great work the OYE team are doing, but his contributions run much deeper than he would admit.
One of Ed’s most memorable experiences as a volunteer is his work on the OYE Community Garden project. Gardening is one of Ed’s passions and his expertise has helped transform the OYE Community Garden into something special.
““Chef Lois asked me if I was interested in helping to resurrect the garden. I was all in. I didn’t know what would happen, but we persevered, we put in a garden, and we did actually get some things out of it. We didn’t have a goal, except to resurrect the garden, but it was important for us to show people that something could grow there.””
Ed was also proud of the number of volunteers who contributed to the OYE Community Garden.
“I would estimate that volunteer hours, to get that garden ready from start to finish was more than 350 hours of volunteer time. And that wasn’t all from Ed Light.”
Volunteering at the OYE Centre has been eye-opening for Ed. After 33 years away from St. John’s, he returned to find that the city had changed – and not in the best way.
“It made me look harder at the social challenges. Coming back to Newfoundland and seeing these challenges, I started to ask a lot of questions to try and understand things a little more. It saddens me. I want to help where I can help most, but I’m only one person.”
While Ed was becoming more aware of the growing challenges facing youth, his return to St. John’s brought these to the forefront. The biggest thing he noticed upon his return was the extent of the drug use and addictions that are plaguing young people.
Ed credits the OYE team’s balanced approach to dealing with these vulnerable youth as one of CFY’s great points of success.
““There is an element of firmness delivered by staff to the client base, but there is a large amount of love given in comparison to that firmness. I like that.””
One interaction that stood out to Ed that illustrates his learning experience at OYE was when a young person came to the door asking for a cup of coffee. Ed was surprised when the youth requested six sugars in his coffee – until one of the OYE staff told him that the young person was likely an opioid addict coming off of a high.
“It was a real eye-opener to learn the effect that drug use has on a person and the choices they have to make as a result. I’m learning as I go.”
Ed encourages anyone considering volunteering to take the plunge into it full-heartedly.
“Don’t waste time thinking about it. Do it. Don’t be afraid that you don’t necessarily know what to do or how to do it. The support the staff give, and the encouragement they provide to the volunteers, blows me away.
I’m grateful that CFY has given me the opportunity to have an outlet. Volunteering gives people an outlet. You get to meet a lot of people in the process. There is a lot of grace given, and I appreciate that too.”
Looking ahead, Ed is excited for the upcoming growing season and what the rest of the year has to bring for him volunteering with CFY.
Every year, Choices for Youth works with over 1,000 young people in our community supporting them with housing, health, employment and family.
