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Simone Smith, daughter of Yvonne and James Smith, commutes to Winthrop from Fort Mill five days a week.
After school, Smith works as a Millcrest Park Apartments in Fort Mill as a leasing consultant. She also is on the board of DiGiorgio Student Union (DSU) at Winthrop and brings different musical acts and comedians to Winthrop.
But around this busy schedule of work, class and extracurricular, the junior integrated marketing major drives to Charlotte to feed and nurture the needy.
Smith works with a youth group called Deep in Charlotte. Her activities involve playing with orphanages, cleaning up neighborhoods and passing out brown bag meals.
Volunteering with people gives you a closer connection to them and Smith said they feel like her family.
“It’s a good time to get to know people more than just hang out and superficial ‘Hi How are you doing’ and then leave,” Smith said. “You really get to see peoples’ hearts and how much they care. It makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.”
Smith’s favorite volunteering experiences are when they help the homeless.
“You are out in the open and people are coming to you,” Smith said. “You know they want your help, and you get amazing stories.”
Each person she meets has a different story and varied pasts.
“You meet homeless people who used to be millionaires, or you meet homeless people who think they are Hitler,” she said.
Deep goes into the uptown of Charlotte with paper bag lunches.
They also go and play orphan children and show them love.
“They don’t have the parents that are there to be around them all the time,” she said. “We want to be there and show that they are loved and cared for.”
Smith has also protested abortion and washed children’s feet for Samaritan’s feet.
After washing their feet the children were given shoes.
Smith enjoys volunteering because it gives her a chance to meet people but also be selfless.
“To volunteer, it makes me feel like I am doing something outside of myself so it makes me feel unselfish,” she said. “I feel like I’m helping someone else and hopefully being that good thing during the day because you never know how someone’s day has been.”
