Most Impactful Volunteer:
Jane Barnes
If you ask Jane Barnes how her volunteer list got so long, she would humbly say it all started organically, one “yes” at a time. Jane, mother to four children aged 9 to 16 years old, worked as a speech-language pathologist but cut back her hours as her family expanded. She started serving at her church and at the kids’ school, and then she agreed to coach cross country at Immaculate Conception (IC) School. It just kept growing from there.
Jane still coaches and serves on her parish’s capital campaign team to build a new school for IC. She’s also active in the Jefferson City Human Relations Commission and on the board of directors for The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri. But it is her active service at the Jefferson City Room at the Inn (JCRATI) that gets most of her time and attention, especially in the winter.
The Room at the Inn model is nationwide, notes Barnes, and was started by a priest in Nashville who wanted to open up the church doors to let people sleep on the pews at night. JCRATI started up a few years ago, and Jane immediately signed up for a volunteer shift.
“It grabbed my interest because there was a need,” she says. “In Jefferson City, we have people who need a safe, warm place to sleep. It’s a little thing that I could do to help outside of my kids and parish. It was out of my comfort zone, but after the first shift, I realized it was just about being compassionate to others.”
JCRATI is an emergency, overnight, low-barrier shelter open during the winter months to give the unhoused a warm meal and a warm place to sleep. Housing the Community JC, a non-profit, oversees JCRATI, but it is staffed completely by volunteers, including a five-person, volunteer executive team. JCRATI moved downtown two years ago to First Baptist Church and currently has 20 beds for overnight guests, which are full almost every night. The team is looking for a larger, permanent location. It is a labor of love and faith.
“We have over 1,000 shifts to fill at the start of the season,” Jane says. “It always gets filled through the collective efforts of our community. Through grace and patience — piece by piece — the whole season is filled. It’s very inspiring, but it’s not without fatigue and listening to the guests’ hardships. It gives you perspective.”
As a volunteer, the guests at JCRATI have taught her a lot, including how grateful they are to receive these basic services at the Inn. It’s been inspiring for her to see how they help each other and create a community.
“It’s really remarkable,” Jane shares. “It’s a lesson in necessity and simplicity. It’s a community lift, and we always welcome new volunteers.”
Currently, volunteering at JCRATI involves operating the shelter during its hours of operation — welcoming guests, providing meals, and setting up and taking down cots. Jane hopes JCRATI will continue to grow because there is such a strong need in the community.
“Connecting with people at JCRATI is very rewarding as a volunteer,” she adds. “I think being intentional on what is worthy of your time and fulfills you is important to impact your community.”