Joni Hahn | San Antonio Children's Shelter

Several years ago, I worked for a major corporation that donated to the United Way. The United Way supports several non-profit organizations, and I was asked to visit some of them as part of a corporate liaison team.

My visit to the San Antonio Children’s Shelter was a major wake up call for me. While I had the chance to visit with several smiling children, it was the solemn, five-month-old baby in two leg casts that moved me. The little boy that watched our every move, cigarette burns covering his arms and legs. The young girl hiding around the corner, one side of her swollen face a solid, black bruise.

I couldn’t imagine the horrors they had been through in their short, innocent lives. As a young, carefree twenty-something, I gazed at my surroundings in near shock. While I knew the violence was out there, my visit made it personal. It put faces with the statistics and news stories. It made me realize how fortunate I was to have grown up in a poor, but loving family.

I pray that one day there will be no need for their organization. However, in the meantime, I’m so grateful they’re around to help.

Joni Hahn