Ali Mitchell (center) was presented with his award during a Shepherd Society luncheon in Columbia, South Carolina. Here he is pictured with LSC New Americans Program Outreach Coordinator Sarah Lewis (left), and wife, Tara Mitchell.
Ali Mitchell, a volunteer with LSC’s New Americans Program, is the 2022 LSC WOW (Worker of Wonders) Award winner for South Carolina.
Mitchell was presented with this honor during a Shepherd Society event in Columbia, South Carolina.
“I didn’t feel worthy of it honestly,” Mitchell said. “Everybody is so kind.”
The WOW Award honors LSC volunteers who offer exemplary service and demonstrate significant dedication to the LSC ministry. For 2022, one volunteer in North Carolina and one volunteer in South Carolina were selected as WOW recipients.
When the LSC New Americans teammates in Columbia nominated Mitchell for the award, they were asked to share a heartwarming story about him. Their response was, “Ali is the heartwarming story!”
Mitchell assembled and led a Circle of Welcome, while also continuing to add Afghan families to help personally. LSC did not assign these clients to his circle; he requested the assignments and kept offering to help more people while always serving his matched families.
He organized and facilitated moves for these families, as well as countless transport trips to medical appointments, DMV, housing-related trips, DSS, birth certificate office, and many other places.
“I’ve been involved volunteering alongside LSC for maybe six years,” he said. “I have a flexible schedule that allows for more time than a lot of folks. I’ve been able to devote a lot of time. I’ve been blessed to do that.”
Mitchell also speaks Urdu from his time spent in Pakistan and served as an unofficial interpreter for the clients he took under his wing. Not only did Ali excel in service to many Afghan clients, but he also managed to develop and maintain close, personal relationships with all of them. Teammates said that Mitchell and his wife, Tara, are beloved by so many of LSC’s clients.
“We work with three or four families. We have spent a lot of time with them, and it’s been so rewarding and heartwarming,” Mitchell said. “I cannot imagine a universe where we are not in their lives. It’s like family.”
