Joani McCullough has only been working for CHI Au Pair USA since April, but she has already made a big name for herself within the company. Based in Atlanta, Joani started with just two au pairs, but has quickly progressed, and is now proud to be overseeing six in her area. She has a strong personal belief in giving to others, and enjoys the opportunities created by the CHI Au Pair USA program to share that belief, and do good for the community.
The program is a good fit for Joani because she has a personal history as a host mom. When her two children were young, Joani took advantage of the wonderful benefits an Au Pair program offers, and the rewards have been immeasurable. She cherishes the time her and her family had with their international guests. They still keep in touch with those au pairs, and even go so far as to take vacations to visit them in their home countries, whenever they can.
Joani tries to instill in her au pairs an understanding of the importance of volunteering. For this year’s National Volunteer Week in May, she was able to put that understanding into practice. Joani took a group of her Georgia-based au pairs to volunteer at Atlanta’s local Ronald McDonald House, where they served meals to families with sick children. They even had an article on their experience that day published on a local website.
The success of that day inspired her to continue the new tradition, and recently, Joani and her au pairs embarked on another day in that spirit. This time, they volunteered for MedShare, an organization that collects surplus medical supplies and equipment from doctors’ offices and hospitals, and distributes them throughout developing countries. The au pairs spent the day sorting and packing the supplies, and as in May, did a great job. Of course, they were all rewarded for their effort with a fun pizza dinner afterwards, which is always a big hit.
For the au pairs, volunteering has the added benefits of giving them a unique opportunity to see our country in a humanitarian way, as well as helping to shed light on some of the issues that every society, whether local or abroad, must work to overcome. There are so many good causes to help, and once the seed of volunteerism is planted in one person’s mind, that spirit can spread to countless more individuals.
As much as Joani gives to her au pairs, she knows that they give her just as much back, and then some. She oversees a wonderful group of caring and intelligent individuals, and says that she loves getting to know each and every one of them. She looks forward to continuing to grow her au pair base in Georgia, and we look forward to her continuing to touch people with her selflessness and caring.
