The Niles Star

Volunteer of the Week

The Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan features a “Volunteer of the Week” each Saturday in the Niles Daily Star, Edwardsburg Argus and Cassopolis Vigilant.

Volunteer’s Name: Kelly Nightingale

Agency (agencies) where they volunteer: Berrien County Community Restorative Board

Brief description of what they do as a volunteer: Kelly volunteers for the Berrien County Community Restorative Board a Court Diversion program, based on the Restorative Justice theory, used as an alternative to formal Court intervention. She has been a volunteer since August 2005. As a Facilitator in the program she conveys the proper tone of mutual respect for all participants: victims, juvenile offenders, their families and panel volunteers.  Their job is to work with youth to find appropriate and unique solutions to juvenile crime. All the volunteers in the Berrien County CRB share an interest and concern about youth in our communities.  Kelly is a wonderful mixture of that interest and concern blended with her action.

A quote from the volunteer about the rewards of volunteering: “I believe the way to impact youth is through example.  I see my volunteer work with CRB as an opportunity to demonstrate to youth the value in participating in one’s community.”