In celebration of National Volunteer Month, we had an opportunity to speak to one of our volunteers, Raven Deuth, and learn about her journey volunteering with our organization!

Raven Deuth’s journey

Raven began her volunteering journey with WRQC in the summer of 2023 after she moved back to the Quad Cities from Waterloo, IA.  

In Waterloo, Raven taught for a district that had a significant population of refugee families compared to the district she is teaching now in the Quad Cities.  

“The district I work here in the Quad Cities does not have many refugee families,” she shared.  

Missing the aspect of helping refugees, Raven knew she’d want to get involved at WRQC upon moving back to the Quad Cities. 

“I didn’t volunteer in Waterloo, but I had connections. Moving back here, I felt like I needed to volunteer,” Raven stated. 

Called to serve

Raven expressed her love for Jesus and belief that we are called to love our neighbors. 

“I was making a lot of excuses before, but I realized that God isn’t calling me when I am busy or not busy, we are all busy. But I have the void of missing the refugee family,” she shared. 

The same love Raven has for her neighbors is the same love she wishes to instill for her daughters. 

“There’s something unique with being with WRQC, and that is getting my daughters involved,” Raven shared. “My husband and I are very big on getting them involved, and we have time to give love to other people, we want to show our daughters to do that.” 

Raven shared that the family’s favorite part of the week is doing an in-house ESL tutoring for a student named Fatima.  

“She [Fatima] also has 3 daughters who are similar ages to my daughter, so our kids play together while we work on English and it’s so fun,” Raven shared. 

Their time volunteering so far comes with lots of rewarding moments.  

“I get to see how excited she [Fatima] gets about learning, to see that she’s hungry to learn, it has been amazing,” Raven stated. 

“I wouldn’t have seen her blossom if I hadn’t known her.”

Learn more about opportunities to volunteer with refugees and other immigrants, or, fill out a volunteer application: 

Kler Soe is the Communications Specialist at World Relief Quad Cities. She joined the team after graduating from St. Ambrose University in May of 2023 with a degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communication. As a refugee herself, she hopes to bring awareness to World Relief’s work through stories.