Maria Lao came to America from Brazil to continue her education at the University of North Georgia in 2017. Feeling isolated from a lack of community, she on a whim decided to participate in a volunteer fair on campus. There, she first came across a non-profit called Boy With a Ball. Recalling the event she realized, “It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later in that conversation that I learned anything about Boy With a Ball…They believe in the power of relationships, and they [were] fighting to know me and to really know me.”
The power of that first connection is what drew Maria to start volunteering and participating in Love Your City in Norcross, GA. Going on a Walkthrough filled her heart with community and a sense of purpose, “I felt like I belonged, like I was a part of something.”
She joined Love Your City as a volunteer in the early days of launching into the Norcross neighborhood in 2018 and has since seen a tremendous transformation in the lives of those within. What most residents in the community face is the struggle of adjusting to a new country, culture, and school system in a language they are unfamiliar with. Young people often experience learning loss and a sense of isolation as they struggle to communicate with their peers, community, and at times, their own families.
Throughout the six-year story of this Love Your City Community, Maria and other young leaders like her have had the opportunity to grow as they faced the big question of how to help young people reach their dreams in this neighborhood. Today, many of the young people within the community are part of small groups and mentoring relationships, experiencing help and learning how to have vision for their future. They are growing to become leaders within their community and are fighting to make a difference themselves in the lives of those around them. With a deep understanding of their stories, Maria shared “walking alongside these young people with similar situations that I faced…it’s encouraging to see what can happen.”
Since that initial volunteer fair, Maria has grown as a leader in ways she could have never imagined. Now, she is the Love Your City Director for the Gwinnett team in Georgia, “It is easy to think of Love Your City as a movement that impacts the community and the participants of the programs…but it really, truly impacts the volunteers [too], my life changed because of Love Your City.”
When asked what she would say to young people who feel stuck, isolated, or lost , Maria said “choose to turn and fight for your neighbors and see how your life changes in it."
To hear more about Maria Lao and her story with Boy With a Ball, check out the full interview!
