Volunteer Spotlight: Fiby Daniel

Last week, we sat down over Zoom to chat with Fiby, who started volunteering with LEAP during the pandemic. Fiby decided she wanted to get more involved with her community. As a current Biology student at UMBC, Fiby loves having an artistic outlet. When she found Calvary Women’s Services, she thought it would be a great way to connect with other women in her community.

Every week, Fiby leads a class on the history of R&B. Each class focuses on a different time period, starting in the 1950s and coming all the way to the present. The women started by talking about artists such as Jackie Wilson and Teddy Pendergrass, Toni Braxton, Anita Baker, Mary J Blige, and some “new school” artists like Frank Ocean. During these classes, women have talked about race and gender in music and reminisced about dance parties before COVID.

For Fiby, volunteering has been a highlight of her experience during COVID. “The women are so opinionated, and some weeks I would think I was going to surprise them with a relatively unknown artist, only to have one woman say, ‘but have you heard this other song by the same artist?”

Her advice for anyone looking to volunteer at Calvary? “Go in with an open mind! Volunteering with Calvary has been such a fun and positive experience.”