Yolanda Battle is easy to spot on Sundays at the Temple of Jesus Christ. She said children usually surround her. Sometimes, she will be the one adult in a pew full of children.
“My husband says there must be a sign on my back or something,” Battle said.
Battle is a youth adviser and the current vice president of her church’s youth department.
She helps plan activities like the upcoming fall festival and organizes fundraisers. She spent this week preparing 100 sales packets for the group’s upcoming citrus-sales fundraiser.
Battle started volunteering at the Beaufort County Boys & Girls Club to put her mind at ease that her son, Jeremiah, was in good hands when he went there.
“I don’t mind putting him somewhere, but I need to know what he’s doing, what they’re teaching him. He can have fun, but he needs to learn as well,” Battle said.
Because she loves working with children, Battle has continued her volunteer work at the Boys & Girls Club for the past two years.
She works at the front desk and helps children with homework after school. Battle said she also volunteers at the Boys & Girls Club events and is willing to help whenever she is needed.
She hopes, one day, her work at the Boys & Girls Club will become a full-time job.
Battle has been unemployed for the past two years, since falling on black ice on her way into work. She’s been looking for a job that would put her degree in teaching and early childhood education to use.
Children aren’t Battle’s only focus. She spends a lot of her free time driving elder members of her church on errands. She leaves Sunday services with a list of appointments that range from quick trips to grocery stores to doctor visits.
A lot of times, Battle doesn’t wait for Sunday.
“I call people from my church and see if they need anything,” Battle said. “I don’t mind helping folks.”