People of Common Heart

Many of our long-term volunteers got their first experience with Common Heart during our Great Turkey Countdown. That's where Colin Albert's story started.  

Here's a peek at his story from our Common Good newspaper ... what's your Common Heart story? 

Volunteer Colin Albert has seen “life go through a lot of ups and downs” during the past five years he's delivered food to Common Heart's neighbors in need.

The Waxhaw resident has delivered meals to a family who later suffered a fatal fire and a woman who had a severe heart attack. Among his current six families on his delivery route is a woman whose arms bear the scars of years of drug use and cutting.

“She is fighting to bring her life back from where it was,” Colin said. “A lot of us are just one mishap or one life choice away from that. What I think we're doing is coming alongside people and saying 'It doesn't matter where you've been. Let's focus on where you're going.'”

It's important that those served by Common Heart understand just how important they are – by their neighbors and by God, Albert said.

“It really comes down to I care so much about those people … I realize that my involvement in their lives can do a lot to show them that they're worth caring about,” he said. “A lot of the people in our world that are down and out are down and out partially because they think they're not worth caring about. But going to and delivering (food) to people that may not have a car or whatever and asking them about their life you can actually do a lot to show them … that they're loved. Through what we do, we tell people 'We care about you unconditionally and God cares about you in that way, too.'”