The Kwiecienski Family, Heart House Austin

Andrew, Christina & Kathy Kwiecienski

It is not every day that you see a family volunteering together.  In fact, most families barely have time to eat meals together.  The Kwiecienski family is an exception.  They began volunteering at Heart House when Christina, the youngest Kwiecienski, needed to complete a service learning requirement for a class.  Due to her age, Heart House requested that a parent accompany her.  Christina and her mom, Kathy started coming to Heart House together each week beginning in February 2003.  They were later joined by Andrew, a senior at the LBJ High School Science Academy.  Kathy and teenagers Christina and Andrew have given over 125 hours of their time and donated several generous items to Heart House.  

This is not the first volunteering adventure they have done together.  The family has also volunteered with Brown Santa, Blue Santa, and for their church.  The Kwiecienski’s moved to Austin from Vermont because of Mr. Kwiecienski’s job with computer company, Mainline Systems.  Besides volunteering, the family also likes going to the movies, shopping, skiing and snowboarding. 

Andrew says that volunteering at Heart House has increased his desire to study and work with different cultures.  In May, Andrew will be graduating from high school plans to study Anthropology.  He also loves playing on the varsity soccer team and is the nonfiction editor of his school’s literary magazine.   Christina, a sophomore at McCallum High School stays busy cheerleading and running track.   After graduation, Christina hopes to study Interior Design and/or Architecture.  Christina loves helping the kids reach their full potential.   Kathy, a former teacher, enjoys quilting and baking.  She is also a part-time nanny.   Although Kathy has worked with all ages of children, she likes “to work with students when they are young to develop good study habits.” 

At Heart House the Kwiecienski’s fit right in.  They know exactly where they are needed and what needs to be done.  Around the holidays, Kathy even volunteered to come in extra shifts while we were short handed.  And, she planned and led the kids in the making of gingerbread houses.  Kathy said, “I really enjoyed making the gingerbread houses with the kids.  They all started out with the same ingredients, but created different houses that were each very unique and beautiful.”  Christina and Andrew make good role models, and can talk to the children about life in high school.  It is not surprising that they are good role models, because they have such a positive role model for a mother.   “It is very admirable of Kathy to instill a sense of community service in her children.”  says Executive Director, Diane Cannon.  It is unusual to see families of people volunteering together on a weekly basis.   We feel very fortunate to have not only one Kwiecienski volunteer, but THREE!                              

Lindsey Goetz

Lindsey Goetz, Heart House Dallas  

This month’s spotlight is on Lindsey Goetz, a stellar Homework Tutor/Mentor who has been volunteering at Heart House for almost a year now. Lindsey earned a BBA in Management Information Systems at the University of Oklahoma in 2000, and has been working at Mary Kay in the IST Department. She has been considering a return to school in order to become a Social Worker. She has found volunteering to be a great step in that direction, delving into the populations she hopes to work with further in the future: children and the elderly. In addition to her volunteering time at Heart House, Lindsey volunteers with the Visiting Nurse Association, serving as a companion to a senior citizen. She has also volunteered at Hope’s Door, Habitat for Humanity, and Kennedy Elementary School . Heart House is extremely fortunate to have her on board

The Volunteer Coordinator, Jayna Wallach says “Lindsey Goetz is one of the best volunteers I’ve run across. Thoughtful, needing little direction, and always reliable, Lindsey’s time with us truly is a gift. She gets the big picture and helps the children we serve in immeasurable ways.”

Lindsey enjoys helping the kids learn new and exciting things, get a level of individual attention they may not receive in school, and providing them with a sense of stability and acceptance. She tries to point out to the kids “the positive qualities they possess since some of them tend to focus on their differences.”  She says, “I consider each child at Heart House an individual piece in one magnificent and unique puzzle – they all fit in the picture in one way or another – each bringing his/her own talent and personality – and each one needed in order for Heart House to be successful as a whole.” 

When asked about her favorite experiences with the children at Heart House, Lindsey tells this story

I remember early last summer Sultana started a weekly tradition of asking me if I brought cookies for that day.  I’m not sure how this series of questioning initially started, but I would keep on telling her that I would have to check with the teachers first before bringing cookies for snack.  Well, she wasn’t going to rely on my word alone so she made me write out an agreement on paper that I would bring cookies on a Tuesday in the near future.  And of course we both had to sign a copy of the agreement along with a witness to make it official (yeah, I can totally see her as a lawyer some day).  So finally one Tuesday towards the end of the summer I decided it was time to bring these cookies I was now obligated (by law) to bring.  However, that Tuesday Sultana didn’t show up and I soon found out that she was no longer going to come to Heart House due to family matters.  Even though I may never see Sultana again, she has definitely made a lasting impression on me.   

Lindsey sums up her motivation for volunteering in this manner: “Years down the road if I’m someone the kids can categorize as a positive force in their life then that’s satisfaction enough for me.” Thank you Lindsey!                              

Whether working directly with the children or providing technical or administrative expertise in the background, your help is needed!  Check out our website and volunteer opportunities or fill out an on-line application today!

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