San Diego volunteer establishes self-defense classes for women and girls

Celebrate this National Volunteer Week April 20 - 26 with the IRC by sharing our Volunteer Impact Story Series with the theme Unity, Infinity, & Continuity inspired by NJ Volunteer Tutor Menna Bakr's 3 pillars of service: "UNITY – unite with them. INFINITY – give them the infinite love that you have. CONTINUITY – the small things you do and say help them." The pillars of Menna’s service align with the foundation of volunteerism across the IRC: community members unite with clients, share their love, and show care through their service. Communities across the country partner with the IRC to welcome and empower refugees, asylum seekers, and survivors of trafficking. In these turbulent times, collective support and dedicated service means more than ever. Continue to read to learn how IRC San Diego volunteer-turned-staff member, McKenna Smith, was inspired to establish new self-defense classes to empower women and girls.

Q: Tell us about the Women’s Resilience Center (WRC) and the work you’ve done there.

McKenna Smith, IRC SD Women's Resilience Center Volunteer-turned-Facilitator: I’ve studied martial arts for 13 years, and since high school I’ve had the idea of teaching martial arts to women and kids who didn’t have access to it. In my senior year of college my advisor pushed me to explore doing a research project that would help me get a career in my field of interest, and I thought of my high school idea. I found the Women's Resilience Center (WRC), so I emailed and set up an interview with Katie. We’ve gotten lots of positive feedback, and I’m glad to be able to continue teaching and hosting these self-defense classes after my research period ended.

Katie Medlin, IRC SD Women's Protection & Empowerment Supervisor : The Women’s Resilience Center is a safe, collaborative space where the diverse needs of all women and girls are respected and where women and girls can seek, share, and obtain information about their rights and their inherent potential for safety, health, education, economic wellbeing, and power. We offer a variety of drop-in classes: yoga, self-defense, English, sewing, psycho-social support groups. They all build skills but also focus on strengthening community connections, especially for newcomer women who are disproportionately affected by social isolation.

We are adamant that our clients and participants guide our work. We solicit a lot of feedback and based on their responses we implement the programs that they would like to have. So McKenna’s “pitch” was a really rare occasion for us, but we thought it stood out as an opportunity that was going to empower our clients, especially because we do have clients who have experienced different forms of victimization both in their home countries and here in the United States—including physical and sexual violence.

McKenna: The only other option apart from WRC was hosting classes at a library, gym, or community space, but I wanted this to be trauma-informed. I’d learned lots about displaced populations from my schoolwork and didn’t want to come across as trying to “save” them.

"I wanted to find a space centered around their needs, and where this could be offered in continuation with other services. The WRC was perfect for that."

Q: What’s been the most enjoyable part about working for with the IRC?

McKenna: My favorite part is the consistency of seeing clients and being able to build relationships with clients who end up coming back. As for the self-defense classes, I love seeing women who are shy and timid at the beginning start to open up and grow more comfortable and empowered. Many of the women who take the classes haven’t done any type of martial art before, so it’s great to see them flourish in this new way. I had a client tell me “I hope these classes never end!”

Q: What have you learned from your time volunteering at the IRC?

McKenna: Every day, I’m more impressed by the way WRC is so client-led and feedback-oriented. I’ve learned a lot about how important those two ideas are, especially in the context of a women’s center.

"Many of the women we serve have plenty reasons for not trusting, but now they’re building this space as their own. It’s beautiful to see."

Katie: WRC started as a response to the influx of Afghan nationals and lots of women needing social support after the evacuation. From there we expanded to new nationalities and the programs evolved based on client feedback. We really want to eliminate the element of “this is what we think you need.” We’re here to provide support, not to “save people.” We want WRC to be a participant-owned and participant-led space– not centering this mentality is really the plight of humanitarian work. 

Q: What impact do you feel you’ve had on your community through volunteering?

McKenna: I hesitate to say what impact I’ve had – I don’t want to put words in clients’ mouths and don’t want to make it seem like “I’ve done this wonderful thing.” It’s so unique to provide this opportunity to folks who wouldn’t have access to it otherwise. Maybe they try the class just once, but seeing people try something new is a beautiful thing. Those who have come back multiple times, we see them continue to grow. I had that same experience in martial arts and want to give back in that way – I’ve learned about respect, about myself, how to control my emotions, how to defend myself. It’s huge! People have the skills to defend themselves.

Q: What advice would you give to people who are considering volunteering?

McKenna: Even if it’s scary and even if you’re hesitant, it’s such a beautiful thing to volunteer, as long as you go into it with the mindset that “I’m here to learn alongside, to help in ways that are beneficial to who I’m working with.” Just leaning into it is such a wonderful thing. I learned a lot, and got a job out of it!

Q: What motivates you to keep coming back and doing this work?

McKenna: The clients. Our name, Women’s Resilience Center, it’s such a beautiful name. It emphasizes resilience and continuous growth. The clients have my heart and are why I come back to work all the time. 

Katie: I draw strength from our clients and the resilience I witness on a daily basis. I also love supervising interns, helping them figure out their career goals, path, what they’re passionate about – it gets me excited for work. Helping them to figure out where they can make an impact after they finish their experience with us makes this profession sustainable.

Showing up is all it takes. Last year, over 3,000 IRC volunteers showed up for refugees and immigrants, contributed over 235,000 hours to over 80,000 clients, and donated over $415,000 to help us provide lifechanging services. To our volunteer team across the country: thank you. We are infinitely grateful for your collaboration, courage, and compassion.

To work in unity in San Diego and beyond with your refugee and immigrant community, visit Rescue.org/Careers and Rescue.org/Volunteer to search for volunteer and internship opportunities. Support San Diego's work by donating here.