After losing their son Emilio to acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2000, Richard and Diane Nares chose to honor his memory by creating an organization to help families in similar situations find support. In 2003, the Emilio Nares Foundation (ENF) was founded as a way to help low-income underserved families get the care they needed. Through the organization, families are able to access resources such as no-cost medical transportation, hospital-approved snacks, adaptive clothing, financial assistance, and more.
Over the past more than 20 years, the foundation has served more than 15,800 families in the San Diego area and continues to do so with the help of dedicated volunteers like Juliana Konze.
We chatted with Konze to find out what it’s like to volunteer, what has been the most rewarding experience, and how others can get started.
What do your volunteer duties entail?
My first time meeting some of the children was this summer for kids in remission at a program called Healing Through Nature. The program took place at a nature center in Point Loma while the parents went through a financial literacy class. Volunteers chaperoned the kids while volunteers from the nature conservancy explained about native plants. But for some of the kids, it was the first time that they’d been out and about—not focusing on cancer, but rather on nature.
What do you like best about volunteering at ENF?
The people. It’s just a couple of hours, but you’re devoting your time to other people and making a little drop of contribution to their lives and making their load feel less heavy.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
All the emotions that come up. I try not to cry and get emotional, but it’s hard because they’re kids. No one deserves to have cancer, but children are so innocent. Unless you’re very detached, you’re going to be taken by that. It’s emotional.
Can you describe your favorite or most memorable experience while volunteering?
The first contact that I had with the organization was at work during Christmas. We adopted a family. They had a wish list, so we got them gifts and dropped them off at the organization. It was very meaningful because I was thinking that any family would have things like Legos and Barbies, but it wasn’t like that. The wish list was shoes, jackets, socks—the bare minimum.
That was so touching because these families are going through so much and to get a new blanket would be the highlight of their Christmas. Obviously, we got everything that they wanted and more, but I still think about how selfless the kids were. They put aside their personal wishes and the toys they wanted because they needed something. That was so powerful that I was like, “I’m going to help in whatever way I can.”
Any advice for someone considering volunteering as a way to give back?
Do it! It’s such a humbling experience and it’s a moment that you’re very present. You’re thinking about other people, and it puts so many things in perspective of what’s important in life. I know it’s super cliche because people always say that you get more than you give, but it is true. I feel like if everyone could do something for another human being, as a society, we would be in a much better place.
