The Harry Tompson Center is blessed to have many faithful volunteers dedicated to improving the lives of ours guests. In 2016 alone, volunteers contributed 3,526 hours. Even though we wish our volunteers would never leave us, we do understand that lives change, and we want to thank two volunteers that will soon be moving on to help others in different parts of the world.

Volunteer Spotlight: Marissa Herzog

Marissa has been a faithful volunteer  at the HTC for the past 6 months. She has had a lot of experience volunteering at various shelters and centers that offer services to homeless individuals, and considers her volunteer work part of her identity.

Originally from Boston, she has lived in Colorado, different parts of California, and now New Orleans. No matter her location or situation, she has always made time to help others. When she decided to come to New Orleans, she looked into different resources available for homeless individuals and created a resource guide to give out.  After giving a stack of flyers to UNITY, she heard about the Harry Tompson Center, and as they say, the rest is history.
Now, Marissa loves the organized chaos of the Center, comparing the constant movement and activity to the dynamics of the city of New Orleans. “There is always something that needs to be done…getting a client some ibuprofen, fetching a case worker for another client, getting a bag or socks from the back, or taking 10 minutes to show a guest how to download an app on their phone so they can drive for Uber.”
Sadly, Marissa will soon be leaving us and heading to Cambodia, as she has been accepted into the Peace Corps. She admits that she is going to greatly miss the city and the Center, but her philanthropic wanderlust is calling, and she needs to move on and continue her selfless journey to help others.

Volunteer Spotlight: Diana Jackson

Diana can usually be seen in our welcome kiosk, greeting guests in the morning and directing them to the services that they need. The guests find her laugh to be contagious, and many find themselves cheered by her presence at the door. She is an artist, and was a collaborator in the creation of artworks that were auctioned at the Gala. Sadly, she is leaving soon for her summer home, but thankfully will be back come the fall.