Volunteering can be a powerful way to give back and gain new skills. Val Sanders, Empower Work’s Director of Training and Volunteers chatted with Keya T., one of Empower Work’s master peer counselors, about how she’s grown personally and professionally since she began helping people on the Empower Work text line.

I made a big mistake in how I handled a customer, and knew it was going to be a big deal.

A few takeaways from our first 100,000 conversations about work difficulties. Seeing the cumulative data along with personal stories from people who have used Empower Work, I’m floored. Our timely intervention is leading to demonstrably more positive economic and emotional outcomes for underserved workers after livelihood-threatening experiences.

I reached out to Empower Work because I’d hit a breaking point. I’d been dealing with a bunch of issues in my workplace for over a year including a demeaning, bullying manager. I took every action I could think of to try to change things for the better, but nothing helped.

Pregnant and unsure how that would impact my job search, I decided to stick it out. But when I returned from unpaid leave, it was worse.