National Volunteer Month Profile: Bridget in DC

For those of you who have wondered who at FMS writes our blog posts, tweets, and Facebook posts, meet Bridget Higginbotham. 

Bridget is the full-time domestic volunteer from Florida who serves as our communications coordinator. In addition to our social media she handles our website, newsletter, videos, photos and design. 

When Bridget graduated from the University of Florida last year with a degree in journalism, she struggled to realize what God wanted her to do with her life. Enter the traditional media and work for a magazine or a newspaper? Or, serve her brothers and sisters in Christ – and if so, how?

“I was so excited when I found FMS on Catholic Volunteer Network,” Bridget said. “It seemed like the perfect fit. I get to use the skills I’ve gained in storytelling and technology to indirectly help those living in poverty around the world.”

And after four years as an active member of the close-knit Catholic Gator community, Bridget was happy to join a faith-based program. It was on a Catholic Gator spring break mission trips to Kentucky with the Christian Appalachian Project where she first experienced Catholic social teaching. 

“When we worked alongside the family to repair their house, we gave them dignity and love,” Bridget said. “In return, we gained a greater understanding of the reality and the root of the poverty that their community faces.” 

Her decision to dedicate a year as a full-time volunteer was the result of a lifelong commitment to service and faith. For 10 years, she was a part of a Christian liturgical dance ministry that used music and dance to reach out those in hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, schools, churches, and other facilities. 

In college, Bridget headed up the UF student organization that promoted organ and tissue donation by registering donors and clearing-up misconceptions that people have about the process.  She would like you to know that April is not just National Volunteer Month, but Donate Life Month and that one organ donor can save eight lives. 

In the end, Bridget attributes her 12 years in Girl Scouts as one of the greatest motivations to continue to volunteer.

“I think my experience with Girl Scouts prepared me well for working with a Franciscan organization,” Bridget said. “I learned to serve God, help people, respect other cultures, and care for the earth.”