Emma & Marissa - Summer Staff

Here at Spencer House, we had the pleasure of having both Emma and Marissa join our team for the summer months! Emma, a previous volunteer of Spencer House, joined us as a Drop-In Program Assistant. Marissa joined us from BoyneClarke Law Firm for their Summer Program opportunity.

Please enjoy these words from Emma & Marissa:

Marissa:

My name is Marissa McBride. This September I will be going into my last year of law school at Dalhousie and recently was hired to article at BoyneClarke law firm upon graduation. As an extension to their offer to article they also give students the option to partake in their unique summer program. This unique program places their hired students at various non-profit organizations within the HRM. This is not only BoyneClarke's way of giving back to the community but also highlights the emphasis they place on the importance of community. This emphasis is what drew me towards BoyneClarke from the beginning as community involvement is something very important to me.

Since starting at Spencer house in May, I have grown to love the community within these walls. I look forward to coming to work each morning and being welcomed by all of the familiar smiling faces. There is something so special about being greeted by people who look forward to seeing you and who are excited to have the opportunity to sit down, chat and share stories over a cup of tea.

I have now been assigned the project of putting together "40 stories for 40 years" in celebration of Spencer houses upcoming 40th anniversary. I believe a part of celebrating Spencer House’s success includes celebrating the successes and lives lived by the members and individuals involved with Spencer House over the past 40 years. Upon capturing 40 unique stories they will then be put into a collection and shared as a way of getting to know and celebrating fellow Spencer House members.

"Life should not only be lived, it should be celebrated." - Osho

Emma:

This summer I have had the pleasure of working at Spencer House as the Assistant Program Coordinator. Before starting this position I have been volunteering at Spencer House since 2020 so I was extremely excited to spend my summer here.

Through my role I have been apart of organizing and carrying out the many drop in activities that happen daily. One of the main skills I’ve learnt is how to play cribbage, and I even won a few games against the resident pros! Every day was always filled with so much joy as it brought such a smile to my face to play trivia, chair dance to fun music, teach line dancing, and of course enjoy the karaoke Friday’s.

Through these activities I have built incredible bonds with all of the members of the centre, all of whom have made me feel as if I am apart of their family. It is honestly impossible to put in to words how fulfilling this position has been. I am so thankful for the connections I have made, so much so that I am begging to be brought back!

Through this job I also was able to see the large impact Spencer House has on the community and for each of the people who visit. The services Spencer House provide are so necessary for the community and I feel such gratitude to be a small role in the impact Spencer House makes.

We thank you for being a part of Spencer House and wish you all the best!