Katie Flynn, A Conversation
Inspiration from Volunteers and Experts in the Field.
Over the last few years, volunteerism has increasingly become a core part of the Open Hearts Foundation mission. In addition to our grantmaking, we believe volunteerism empowers our charity partners to fulfill their mission. We also believe that the act of volunteering inspires our Open Hearts Movement of volunteers who want to make a difference with their time and talents and find their unique purpose.
We invite you to hear this conversation with this program’s visionary Katie Flynn who, along with several friends, first brought volunteerism into the mission and work of the Open Hearts Foundation through the Young Hearts volunteer program.
Foundation: What first inspired you to create Young Hearts, the Foundation’s early volunteer effort, and to uplift volunteering as an important way we could make a difference?
Katie Flynn (KF): I really believed in the Open Hearts Philosophy and the founding vision of keeping an open heart and giving back - rooted in the experience of my grandmother, Mieke Frankenberg, and how she inspired my mother to launch The Open Hearts Foundation. It was beautiful what the Open Hearts Foundation was doing - giving organizations the chance to get grant funding and to be seen. At that time, the Foundation was hosting many important, and impactful, fundraising events in order to make this happen. But for my generation, not all of us can give as much financially. We want to be involved but may not have the few hundred dollars to donate to a fundraiser.
What we do have is the time, the skill sets, the passion, and the desire to make the change. So I wondered “how could we integrate and expand the work of the Foundation outside of just the events and the funding?” Along with my friends, Ella Freyinger and Adee Zach, we started a volunteer effort, Young Hearts, which hosted volunteer opportunities - often including our children and friends. Being involved in a hands-on way became a part of the bigger concept of “giving back” through the Open Hearts Foundation. Then we found that others, even those who could afford to donate dollars, were also seeking this more hands-on way to make change.
Foundation: What do you see as the importance of volunteering - to the individual and to the community?
KF: Volunteerism is about changing our hardened views that aren’t connected to the heart in the way they should be. This may sound a bit unusual – but it’s not always the thing you're doing. The “picking up the trash” or “collecting food” isn’t the thing - it is about coming together in community to make change. It is about learning and making small changes. Maybe after picking up plastics on the beach, you decide to use less plastic at home. The thing you're doing is the part that's helping you to connect your heart to the circumstance. Some people say why “would I do that, it’s not going to change anything?”
Foundation: There does seem to be a question of “what can I do?” challenging us nowadays. How does volunteerism answer that call?
KF: There are many ways we can feel overwhelmed with what’s happening now with our world and planet, on so many levels - whether it’s the environment, the unhoused, children, or illness. When we are disconnected and overwhelmed, shutdown begins to happen. I want to explore the question “what are ways to get out of this feeling of overwhelm and actually take the steps to make a difference?” How can we offer something that we uniquely have as individuals to another person? One of the biggest messages of the Open Hearts Foundation is that if you’re feeling lost one of the best things you can do in the moment is reach out and help another person.
Foundation: Earlier you said the volunteer action we take, like joining a beach clean up or food drive, isn’t the “thing.” Can you explain more?
KF: The task you do when volunteering should help out the nonprofit. But one day of beach clean up won’t solve the climate issue. It’s what else that happens when volunteering. When we volunteer, we are making a difference for the organization, of course, if we are doing it in partnership and conscientiously. But one of the biggest benefits of volunteering is learning – both about the issue at hand and by growing compassion and an openness to another person’s circumstances.
Volunteering is also about building a community and inspiring others to do something. Maybe one person can’t solve everything but if we are all curious and coming from a place of wanting to understand so we can do better, it is a step we can take. Curiosity, connection, authentic interest, and the drive to understand issues and connect to people with different backgrounds is what will make a difference.
Foundation: You mentioned volunteering “in partnership” and doing so conscientiously. What does that mean for you?
KF: As volunteers, we don’t want to go into a nonprofit and say we have all the answers. While volunteering might help us feel less overwhelmed, it is not just about us. We are not trying to come in and tell you what you need. We want to be a resource - if there is something the community really needs, we are here for you. Part of listening is admitting we don’t know what people need. So we listen and learn. We ask “How can we be of service? You tell me what you need.” Not “I am here to do this for you.”
Foundation: That is important and is very aligned with our grantmaking. With our grants, we work with our charity partners to listen to their needs and to make the grant process as easy as possible.
KF: Yes! The Foundation’s volunteerism and the grantmaking go hand in hand. It takes both the “treasure” of donations AND the “time and talent” of volunteers to boost the work of nonprofits to solve challenges. It is critical to have both of these at the heart of the Foundation.