As part of this assignment, I shadowed and interviewed Ms. Erica Byrne, the executive director of Voices for Children (VFC). VFC is a nonprofit organization in Maryland that. “Provides trained volunteers, Court Appointed Special Advocates, to abused and neglected children in Howard County, who advocate in court to ensure each child a safe and permanent home” (voicesforchilden.org). There were a few key lessons I learned through this experience. These lessons include: 1) the importance of volunteers 2) finding sources of funding 3) the value of having a holistic strategy and theory of change and 4) how to create a high impact nonprofit, especially in Howard County. It is important to note that volunteers are profoundly important to VFC. Volunteers
