Creative Engagement Coordinator Ashley Caveda recently had the opportunity to interview our brand-new executive director, Amy Horton.

Flexibility is a hallmark of the Clinic and my role has evolved as Clinic needs have changed. Because of this, two years ago, I began serving as the Community Partnerships Manager. This role primarily focused on the Clinic’s robust relationships with organizations all over the state of Indiana, and particularly here in Indianapolis. But, a few months ago, I also took over the duties of volunteer coordinator. Now, I build and maintain relationships with both community partners and individual volunteers. And both of these groups are absolutely essential to the Clinic’s work.

Long before becoming our Fort Wayne Office Coordinator, Sarah Doak was interested in helping others. “Hip hop music exposed me to a lot of injustice that I had been sheltered from,” she says. Sarah decided to get her degree in social work and attended IUPUI for her freshman year. During this time, she started volunteering with our partners at Outreach, Inc., a non-profit organization that walks alongside homeless youth, equipping and empowering them to achieve stability and transformation in their lives.

The Clinic is approaching this new year as an opportunity to refocus our vision for the future. As such, during the first staff meeting of 2020, we took time to review and reflect upon our Clinic values, which include: Jesus, Humility, Love, Gratitude, Daring, Wisdom, Flexibility, and Flourishing. While there are many important qualities that we hope to emulate in our actions and through our work, these eight are meant to be the driving force behind what we do. And first and foremost among these is Jesus.

We can live a story that says we are all alone, or a story that says we must keep all of our resources for ourselves, or a story that says to circle the wagons and stick with our tribes because the world is a dangerous place.

But God has given us a better story. The Bible tells us one that is filled with the beauty of God’s presence in the midst of the burdens of human existence. It’s a story that tells us that God has made us in his image and for a purpose. A purpose frustrated by sin and death, yes—but that is why we have him to rescue us from such powers and to restore things to their rightful place.

The day the ICE raids were supposed to begin, Laura Pontius spoke to a group of immigrants who were gathered in a Catholic Church to learn about their legal rights and the most recent changes to immigration law. After her presentation, a man approached her and the priest. She recalls that the man was visibly afraid, but he had a message to share. “All of my family and friends are really scared about what’s going to happen,” he told her. “It brings us a lot of peace that there are people out there thinking about how we’re feeling and about how we might need certain resources right now.” As he spoke, Laura was struck by how many times the man thanked her. Again and again, he expressed his gratitude that members of the community cared about what happened to him and his family.

As a young girl, Jordan Huttenlocker dreamed of being a veterinarian. Over the years, however, her ambitions shifted, and she eventually became a lawyer, practicing medical malpractice defense. For a time, this was the perfect marriage of her interests. But after eight years of working as a full-time attorney at a large firm in Chicago, Jordan and her husband decided to move back to Ft. Wayne. Jordan took a step back from her career to focus on raising their two small children. Soon, however, she sought part-time employment again. “I realized I really did miss practicing law,” she says.

Babra has spent much of her career working with vulnerable communities, even before coming to the United States. As an immigrant herself, she has faced many challenges that continue to influence and confirm for her that she is in the right place with the Clinic now. “My faith leads the work I do because that is my source of strength each day,” she says. “I remind myself every day that God … uplifts our spirits and others and that our faith in him provides guidance and answers where we are challenged.” Babra loves to serve clients and is currently working toward becoming an Accredited Representative so that she can assist with immigration proceedings in the future.

Chris, Ashley, and Cassandra are brainstorming strategies for going against FACE Low-Cost Animal Clinic in Round 1 of Brackets For Good 2018--and they have a theory on why their opponent is so competitive.