JC Nichols, senior in biomedical sciences, has been working with Auburn children throughout each of his four years through IMPACT at Auburn University.
IMPACT is an organization that focuses on serving the community and giving Auburn students a chance to volunteer with children or others in need, Nichols said. The organization has a wide range of project sites to volunteer with such as the Boys and Girls Club or Joyland Daycare, which is where Nichols now leads other volunteers.
Nichols has been with Joyland Daycare since his freshman year, where his sister, two years his elder, had already been volunteering.
“Joyland is a daycare for children who are statistically at high risk for abuse,” Nichols said. “It just has the coolest people. They are awesome. I have worked with the same class like second through fifth graders since freshman year, so I have gotten to tutor them and watch them grow up.”
Nichols refers to these Joyland kids as “his kids.”
“Honestly just getting to have friendships with the kids,” Nichols said. “It’s funny. It definitely takes some time, and that’s why it’s cool when I have volunteers that decide to make a commitment and come consistently because it takes a little bit of time for the kids to let you in.”
Some of the IMPACT volunteers come on a sporadic basis, but others come, fall in love with the organization and stay. The volunteers who come regularly are able to form bonds with the children, Nichols said.
“They like to give fake names at first, which I think is just this funny game that they play,” Nichols said. “So that’s part of it. It’s like having the patience to wait on them and their time.”
When volunteers come to Joyland, they are able to help the children with homework or even just getting to play games. Nichols, now a project coordinator at the daycare, also serves as the co-director of freshman forum and has served as a Camp War Eagle counselor as well as working for the Oaks Retreat. He is also the AU Singers president.
“So to me, IMPACT is this breath of fresh air where life isn’t about me for two hours a week,” Nichols said.
With all of his commitments, which includes studying and preparing for medical school, Nichols is able to serve at Joyland every Wednesday from 3–5 p.m.
Nichols enjoys working with children so much that he hopes to become a pediatrician in a hospital setting.
“There’s kids and families facing tough situations, scary situations. ... I would really love to come in at that moment and point them to a hope that’s greater than modern medicine — a hope in a heavenly father that loves them,” Nichols said.
Through Joyland, Nichols has been able to watch the children grow up. One of the kids formed a bond with another volunteer named Tyler. One of the third graders struggled with reading and didn’t enjoy it at all. Even as Nichols tried to push him, he would grow frustrated. The volunteer, however, formed a bond with the child, and they had a growing friendship.
“[The child] enjoyed reading with Tyler,” Nichols said. “They would kind of make it into a game, like a race of how quickly they could get through a page, but he would actually make him read, and he would make him learn. And so it was just really cool to see that and see the teacher grow to appreciate this volunteer that cared so much for [the child].”
Any students who are interested in volunteering can find the schedules of all the project sites on IMPACT’s AUInvolve page.
“IMPACT is the perfect organization for freshmen to try because there is no commitment,” Nichols said. “But, it’s a great way to kind of discover things that you’re passionate about.”
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