Personal tragedy fuels volunteer’s passion
When you meet Trish Mabey (pictured, top) you would never guess what she’s been through. Eager to help and quick to smile, she’s a star volunteer for the after-school program at the Payne Ave. Salvation Army in St. Paul.
“I just like to help, it’s what I do,” Mabey said.
And that is an understatement. A full-time construction worker, she drives to St. Paul’s East side from her home in Minnetonka four days a week to cook food for inner-city children, after working all day.
“She’s an angel in my kitchen, and I love her,” said Amanda Kenney (pictured), who is in charge of cooking for 50 kids and staff members Monday through Thursday. “It’s a lot of work and she cuts it in half. Trish is so reliable. She does anything I ask and she really loves being here.”
That is even more impressive considering Mabey’s history. In 2013, she was involved in a terrible car accident that took the life of her 15-year-old son, Bryce, and left her with permanent injuries.
After she got out of the hospital, she says the loss was nearly more than she could bear.
“I worked and went home and cried,” Mabey said. “I would cry from the second I walked in the door until I went to sleep. I decided, I can’t do this. So I started volunteering.”
After growing up in a family that struggled with alcoholism, Mabey says she was determined never to go down that path.
“Bryce would have been really disappointed in me if I started drinking or doing drugs to deal with the pain of losing him,” she explained.
And while she says nothing can take the place of her son, volunteering keeps her up and moving.
“I need to make my son proud of me, I know this is something he’d want me to do.”
Please join The Salvation Army by volunteering or making a donation to support your local community.