AIF supporter Volunteer Experience
AIF supporter Sarah McCullough of Philadelphia first learned about the Corrymeela Community during her travels through Northern Ireland in 2006.

Full size | eCard photo    Volunteer Sarah McCullough (right)

The reconciliation and reform work that Sarah witnessed in speaking with community leaders in Belfast stayed with her when she returned to the United States to complete her final year at New York University. During that year she began the long process of applying to be a volunteer at Corrymeela. Upon graduating in May 2007, she was informed she had been accepted for a year-long position and in August 2007, she moved to Northern Ireland.

Now, a year later, she has returned to Philadelphia enriched and humbled by her experiences. Here, she shares some reflections on her volunteer experience.

Offhand, someone once described Corrymeela as an open space that allows people to feel safe enough to explore the possibility of change. In other words, it is a place that engenders the true meaning of hospitality. Having worked at Corrymeela for a year as a member of the 2007-2008 long-term volunteer team, I have yet to come across another description that can speak more accurately to the simple work Corrymeela strives to do within the local and global community. My hope is that through these words, my reflections on the time I spent at Corrymeela will allow you to share in the experience of this place and the profound impact a place of hospitality has on the process of reconciliation.

As a volunteer, I worked with groups that fell under each description above and also fell in-between. To name a few, I have worked with family groups from disadvantaged backgrounds, young people from both tough Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods, school groups from Northern Ireland and abroad who are studying methods of reconciliation, a Down Syndrome theatre group, and children of a local school who wanted to take hip hop danceclasses. I either worked directly with group members or tangentially by working with the housekeeping and kitchen staff.

Like all the volunteers, I was right in the centre of continuous activity. Having grown up in Philadelphia and then attending New York University, my lifestyle was quite accustomed to being surrounded by non-stop energy. The pace of the Centre sweeps you up and carries you along, just like walking in the pedestrian crowd down Broadway.

But Corrymeela is no New York City. Lucky for me, as I was looking to take a large step outside my comfort zone. I wanted to find work that took me out of the city and out of the classroom and dance studio. I have trained extensively in classical forms of dance from ballet, modern, jazz to African and hip-hop. It was while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU that I began to explore the possibilities in dance through community work. This altered my direction from the stage to the street. I wanted to use my academic and artistic training in a new environment to explore creative methods of communication around divisive issues that can cause conflict within our communities, and conflict within us. I found such an environment in Northern Ireland. Dance offers such a unique language for people who find verbal speaking around certain issues or incidents impossible. 

Corrymeela did not completely change my life in the traditional way that people mean it, and for that I am eternally glad. Rather, it refined my life down to its truest qualities. Corrymeela changed the way I see, think, and act by showing me the potential in what I already had. By working as a volunteer and striving to offer this possibility of self-awareness and change to others, I also found it within myself. As I was there to support, so I also found myself supported. As I was there to lead, so I also found myself willing to follow. Each person I met became a part of a mirror that reflected my strengths and vulnerabilities back to me in a way that allowed me to understand them better. And on almost a daily basis, I could see this process of projection and reflection occurring within the people around me. One of the most visible examples that I continually saw was when a Protestant class and a Catholic class came together over the days they were at the Centre. On their first interaction, I could see them eyeing each other up as they sat on different sides of the room. Through discussions later on, both sides discovered they had almost identical stereotypes of what they thought the other would be. By the end of the first night, I usually could not tell who came from what school and who had been best friends for years and who had just met. It was incredible to be an integral part of it. Mahatma Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Corrymeela, that open village on a hill, provides a space for everyone to explore that possibility within themselves and in each other.

I am still in close contact with people at the centre, friends in the Republic and Northern Ireland, and the other yearlong volunteers, even though we are dispersed throughout the world and back in our countries of origin. I am currently working for Expert Events and just finished working on the AIF golf fundraiser. I am also learning Swedish and applying to two Master’s programmes in Sweden, both of which deal with peace and reconciliation within religious conflict. My hope is to build on my experience of last year and to return to Northern Ireland to do field research, specifically examining the role the arts play in the peace process. Why Sweden? It has a great education system and I fell in love with a Swedish volunteer. According to founder Ray Davey, the mission of Corrymeela from the beginning was simple: “We hope that Corrymeela will come to be known as ‘the Open Village.’ open to all people of goodwill who are willing to meet each other, to learn from each other and work together for the good of all.” Corrymeela has held true to the principle of these words over the decades.

How The Ireland Funds helped

To date, the Ireland Funds has given approximately £216,902 ($427,360) in support of Corrymeela’s activities.

The Impact of your investment

To complete construction of the New Village, an additional £400,000 ($788,210) is needed. Reaching this target will enable Corrymeela to continue working towards reconciliation and peace-building work with school-children, youth and families throughout Ireland for the next 40 years. The New Village will provide appropriate accommodation that allows for more appropriate residential facilities for a wider range of groups. Corrymeela is looking for funding for the following: Bedroom Furnishings (for single, twin or family room) £6,000-10,000 ($11,825-19,705) Dining Room Furnishing £15,000 ($29,555) Lounge Furnishing £10,000 ($19,705) Meeting Rooms £18,000 ($35,465) Children’s Play Area (play equipment & safety features) £26,000 ($51,225) Corrymeela offers donors naming opportunities for donations to the New Village.

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