This week’s Vicksburg Post Volunteer of the Week is Marissa Jade Jabour, who volunteers at St. George  Antiochian Orthodox Church.

St. George Church in Vicksburg was established in 1906 and is a Christian Denomination. Jabour will graduate from St. Aloysius High School on May 24. She served as Student Government Senior Class Officer, Mu Alpha Theta Math Lab Chairman, Varsity Girls Basketball Team Captain, member of the Retreat Team, Interact Club and Liturgical Team. Jabour is also a member of the Vicksburg Cotillion Club and Vicksburg Sub Deb Club. She attends St. George Orthodox Church and serves as Teen SOYO President.

How did you hear about the program? 

I want to live out my faith by continuing to be true to God and loving others as God loves me. As an active member of St. George Orthodox Church, I annually participate in our church family’s Kibbee fundraiser and Lebanese dinner. As president of Teen SOYO (our church youth group), I want to have a positive impact on my peers, and I appreciate and enjoy teaching Christian values to others. For the National Day of Caring, our youth group volunteered at Rainbow Farms and cleaned up the teen room at the church. We also partnered with a local high school in collecting donations to make Soup Bags for United Way, hosted the annual Fall Festival, collected canned goods at Thanksgiving for Good Shepherd, and we adopted and Christmas shopped for two children at Christmas. 

How long have you been volunteering? 

I’ve been helping since I was a young child. It’s a tradition for my entire family to go help prepare the food for the Kibbee fundraiser and Lebanese dinner.

What is your favorite memory while volunteering? 

Learning how to roll cabbage rolls and make Kibbee from my MiMi (Miriam Jabour). I love hearing about my family history at the church and my ancestors that helped with the Lebanese dinner in years past. 

What would you tell someone who is thinking about volunteering? 

Sometimes helping others and serving the community is a rarity in youth these days, and I have to encourage all youth to get involved whether in their community, school or church. Volunteering enables you to gain necessary job skills, such as leadership, team building, problem-solving, communication, dependability, time management and decision-making. Community service is vital because every community always needs work, and without people willing to help do that work, the community would be lacking. In addition, without community service, people would not fully understand the meaning of charity and how to give back. 

Additional Comments

Since I was a child, I’ve enjoyed caring for others and serving the people around me to make my community and the world a better place. Whether that has been donating to our local food pantry, packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, volunteering at the Miss Mississippi Pageant, Service Over Self, or helping the homeless, I have always found joy in being there for other people. This past semester, my senior class Theology project was making mats out of plastic bags for the homeless. John 13:34 says, “A New Commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

To me, loving one another is best expressed by “the little things” of life, and I have tried to mirror my life to this scripture. Throughout my high-school career, I have received the Presidential Bronze service award (100+ hours) twice and the Presidential Silver Service award (175+ hours) once. Since May 2021, I have earned more than 600 service hours.

If there is a volunteer who should be featured, please submit their name and contact information to volunteer@vicksburgpost.com.