Volunteering has always been a way of life for Miami native Melissa Sullivan. When her 30th birthday rolled around in September 2015, she couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with 30 days of community service.
Her mother’s spirit and passion for volunteering instilled a passion for service in Melissa at a young age. “I have three younger siblings, so as a mother of four she was always involved in PTA, different fundraisers and bake sales when we were younger,” Melissa said in an interview.
When a loved one joined the Marine Corps shortly after 9/11, Melissa founded Operation HERO (Helping Everyone Reach Out), which sent thousands of care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. She then went to work on political campaigns directly out of high school.
When she moved to D.C. to work on the Hill a few years later, Melissa wasted no time in volunteering regularly at organizations like D.C. Central Kitchen and So Others Might Eat. She even attempted to organize a blood drive, despite her deep-seated fear of needles.
In 2014, Melissa married her fiancé whom she met on Match.com through their mutual interest in volunteering. In 2014, Melissa married her fiancé, whom she met on Match.com through their mutual interest in volunteering. “Instead of having the traditional bachelor or bachelorette party, we actually rented a huge van and surprised everyone,” Melissa said. “We organized a day of service at DC Central Kitchen…Surprisingly, they really enjoyed it.”
30 Days of Service
Melissa was not looking forward to turning 30.
“I wanted to do something positive,” she said. “I thought ‘well what a better way to celebrate than to do good work and to help others.’”
The numbers worked out perfectly for her September birthday: 30 days for 30 years. How hard could it be?
A sign for the AARP Meal Pack Challenge. | Photo by Benjamin Burgess
She tried to keep it exciting by volunteering with a variety of organizations — mostly those working with veterans and people experiencing homelessness. Since she was already connected with a lot of organizations, it was just a matter of looking at her calendar, signing up for events and plugging them into a Google spreadsheet.
At first, it was more daunting than she expected. Melissa had started an undergraduate degree at American University, so she had to balance volunteering with schoolwork and other obligations. But once she got into a rhythm, she found that the feeling of making a difference was more than worth it.
At the same time, she shared her volunteer spreadsheet with friends and documented her experience by posting selfies to social media with the hashtag #30DaysOfServiceForMy30th.
“I’m not a selfie person normally,” she said. “I did it to…show that it doesn’t matter if they can donate one hour or one full day, they can fit service somewhere into their schedule.”
The Incident
On Oct. 19, 2015, she was volunteering at Martha’s Outfitters on the Martha’s Table campus where she had spent many of her 30 days of service.
She was assaulted by another volunteer.
“I’m a survivor of sexual assault in my early adolescence and my husband was in India during the time for work, so as you can imagine this is the last thing I would’ve expected,” she said. “In the aftermath, I was very flustered and very taken aback.”
She reported the incident to police later that night and ultimately decided to press charges.
The criminal case went on for about seven months and resulted in a sentence of 10 days suspended confinement, six months supervised probation and a $50 fine to D.C.’s Crime Victims Compensation Program. Her aggressor wouldn’t have to serve those 10 days if he followed the conditions of his probation: stay away from her, receive sex offender counseling and complete 40 days of community service—which is where the assault occurred in the first place.
“I’ve been through a lot of trauma…and volunteering has really been my saving grace in a lot of ways,” she said. “The fact that something like this could happen in my safe space [was devastating].”
The year before, she had volunteered over 400 hours. After the incident, she barely volunteered at all.
The healing process
Melissa says she started the healing process by asking hard questions. Why was she questioning her passion and purpose?
“I think the conclusion that I came to is that I’ve been through a lot in my life and I’ve always come back to trying to create a silver lining,” she said interview. “That’s what really inspired me to continue the project, that I just need to pick back up again and do this.’”
This interview with Melissa occurred 12 days into Melissa’s 30 days of service for her 31st birthday, as she geared up for the AARP Meal Pack Challenge on the National Mall. She plans to continue the project in future years, possibly in another form like 30 acts of kindness, since she plans to work full time or pursue a Master’s in social work.
Melissa packages food at the AARP Meal Pack Challenge. | Photo by Benjamin Burgess
The healing process is ongoing and some days are easier than others. She continues to draw support from her husband and resources such as the Network for Victim Recovery of DC and the Crime Victims Compensation Program.
This time around, school is a little more demanding as Melissa gets ready for graduation. So she and her husband are doing more of what she calls “freelance volunteering”: bringing toiletries and meals to about 30 homeless folks at Edward R. Murrow Park across from the World Bank.
It has become a community where Melissa has been able to start healing from her own trauma, while helping others work through theirs. She mentioned, for example, meeting Lance Johnson while he was still running his street ministry at the park. Even though she hasn’t seen him preaching there lately, Melissa still remembers talking with him about his experiences as a veteran.
“It’s all about connecting with people,” she said. “Whether I can bring them a hot meal, or whether I can listen to them for an hour and hear one of their war stories.”
