Volunteer Spotlight: Brother Donald Dubay, CFC
Brother Donald Dubay, CFC, helps with morning sign-in at the Center.
Just before doors open at 7:30am on an unseasonably cool spring morning, Brother Donald Dubay, CFC, enters the back gate carrying boxes stacked as high as the brim of his signature ball cap. He beams, God is good, as he sets down the load to reveal several cases of underwear, towels, hygiene items, and even a few checks made out to our Center. The whole team is elated – our underwear supply has been low and Brother Don’s donation contains boxer briefs, our guests’ favorite! When we thank him, he is touched but quick to direct the credit to the caring hearts within the Community of Francis and Clare and the greater community. “I am simply grateful to be the messenger.” he says, before making his way to the front gate for his volunteer shift.
With all due respect to his humble service, we are thrilled to uplift Brother Donald Dubay, CFC, in our volunteer spotlight for the impact he has had in maximizing our mission and ministry.
When he first came for a site visit after connecting with our partners at DePaul USA through his work as a Chaplain of the Food Pantry and Homelessness Outreach at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church, Brother Donald loved how Eva approached our morning sign in, making time to greet everyone and offering our signature elbow-bump, a moderated COVID-friendly hi-five. He admired that distress was treated with dignity and a desire for better understanding and deeper care. Knowing he needed to transition away from the physicality of the street outreach he was doing for St. Anna’s, he prayed and trusted that God’s answer would show itself in time, and not long after, a perfect candidate stepped into his role, enabling him to regularly volunteer at our Center.
Refilling the water jugs for our guests.
Since then, Brother Don has found beauty and inspiration for his faith in seemingly simple interactions, such as giving guests water, charging their phones, and exchanging small talk. He keeps his heart open to experiencing what he calls holy moments, when he recognizes what a blessing it is to be of service to another person, to see their common humanity, to help put their socks on after they shower or get them a pair of reading glasses so that they can see the world a little better. The thing is, Brother Donald says, we are helping them as much as they are teaching us.
“Christ always said, don’t ever forget the poor, they will be with us always for that is where we find Him. Some people find Christ in nature and art and churches, but for me, I also find Christ in the margins.” Brother Donald goes onto say that part of what this means for him is finding strength in the hope and resilience of our guests. Like all of us, there are days when Brother Donald’s drive into the Center can be fraught with feelings of worry and fear and doubt and dismay about the state of the world or our own interpersonal dealings; but so often that feeling melts away when we see our guests, when we hear them express gratitude and good attitudes to simply be alive and breathing and okay despite major adversity. It is in their hope and determination that we find strength. It is in their anger and fear and frustration with complicated systems and red tape that we stand in solidarity to validate their experiences.
In his former role doing street outreach with St. Anna’s, Brother Donald saw his unhoused neighbors (he calls them his siblings) in various states of distress and despairing conditions. He mourned how many people seemed to have given up hope altogether that they could rebuild their lives. Since starting at the Rebuild Center with HTC, Brother Donald says that the biggest difference between our guests and non-resource seeking unhoused individuals is the sense of hope they have for themselves. “Just by being here and showing up to take a shower they show a quality of care for themselves, and to hear them talking to folks here about finding housing, a bus pass, or their next step is really inspiring and gives me hope for them. It also reminds me that we all have the opportunity to choose joy at every moment, and I try to learn from that as well.”
A quote that Brother Don loves and tries to live by.
As he has learned the ins and outs of our operations, Brother Donald has been incredibly generous and prolific in support of our mission. “Franciscans are known as mendicants, we beg! Some people really want to help but can’t volunteer and would love nothing more than to contribute from your Wishlist or donate to your mission. People always ask me what they can do if they cannot contribute, and my answer is to pray. Prayer can go a long way.” Through his own prayers, Brother Donald has been working on ways to help HTC and our partners at DePaul USA in collaboration with St. Anna’s Episcopal and the Community of Francis and Clare. Already, St. Anna’s is working to stock the pantries of recently-housed guests as part of this effort!
We are thrilled that Brother Don found us and we are so grateful that he intends to help us carry out morning services for a long time to come. He certainly adds a lot of joy to our work and we get a kick out of his love for folding towels. We wish him the very best as he travels to Loyola in Chicago for the annual Franciscan gathering and on his 4th trip with Team Brownsville, showing hospitality and compassion to families at the US/Mexico border. If you have found us through Brother Donald Dubay, CFC, welcome to our HTC family! Thank you, Brother Don!