Allow Me to Introduce ... Lily Cunningham!

Lily Cunningham has been volunteering with the CRCC as a F2F Advocate since last winter. I'm sure you'll enjoy getting to know her a bit better just as much as I have!

What led you to volunteer with the CRCC?

A funny series of events involving my student career at CSU and my work led me to want to further my future along the lines of PTSD, sexual trauma and survival. Ta Da! Now I’m an advocate, and it’s amazing.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with the CRCC?

I enjoy knowing that I am a part of a much needed service in our community and that volunteering is a multi-faceted system of education, advocacy, and support. I also think it’s very important that as advocates, we are able to support someone in ways that can continually be beneficial to their healing process.

What do you find most challenging about volunteering with the CRCC?

Honestly? Trying to schedule shifts! In less than a week I’ll be a full time student again with a part time job. Life is only going to get more interesting…

Do you have a favorite experience as a volunteer?

Briefly, it was knowing that something as simple as getting a cup of coffee can help ease someone’s turmoil at a very terrible time.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not volunteering?

I enjoy spending time with my loved ones, reading, going to interesting events around Cleveland, and quality “me time” that usually involves a Super Nintendo, journal, canvas, or Law & Order: SVU.

If you had a magic wand and 3 wishes, what would those wishes be?

I wouldn’t trust the three wishes deal, and be scouring it for fine print—like, what are the repercussions going to be? I’m a great pessimist when it comes to offers like that. However, I think that paying off my student loan debt, having property on the coast of Ireland and a (small) yahcht would be a nice start for those three wishes.

If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?

I’d probably try to get myself induced in a coma for like three months so I could quit smoking for good without having to worry about cravings and withdrawl.

Favorites
Book: I love books, and I think right now my favorites are a toss up between The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule: one fiction, one true crime that I think most women would benefit from reading.

Movie: Braveheart and The Dark Knight

Musician or group: I enjoy a lot of music, but most of it is not modern: anything from Chopin to the Moody Blues to the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack.

Meal: That’s a tough one. Depends on my mood, but I’m almost always in the mood for Italian, Indian…and mashed potatoes!

Spot in your house: My room. It’s my sanctuary.

Sports teams: Third generation Browns fan and proud of it. Nobody knows resilience and rejection like a true Browns fan.