Bennett is new volunteer and community education coordinator at Marlboro Pee Dee Coalition

Devonte Bennett has always wanted to work in a helping profession.

A little over a month ago, he was hired as the new volunteer and community education coordinator at the Marlboro office of Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault.

Bennett, who is from Hartsville, has a degree in psychology and a minor in sociology.

“I always wanted to get in a field where I could help people,” he said. “The Pee Dee Coalition got my attention in terms of the work they do with victims.”

When he talks in the community about Pee Dee Coalition, Bennett emphasizes that victims aren’t a certain person or a certain demographic.

“Victims can be anybody,” he said. “They can be male or female, young or old.”

He added the pandemic has affected how service is provided to people.

“It has impacted the way we can interact with them and how we interact in terms of filling out paperwork and other services,” he said.

One of his goals in his new position is to fine tune the podcast, PDC Talks, that is done on a monthly basis.

Each month at Pee Dee Coalition has a different focus.

For instance, February is dating violence awareness. The podcast for that month is geared toward that topic.

PDC Talks can be accessed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Listen Notes.

“It is another way for Pee Dee Coalition to get its message out,” he said. “People want information on their phone.”

Another goal is to make the volunteer program more of a structured process.

If interested in volunteering, Pee Dee Coalition has a lot of options for people such as answering phone calls, taking people to and from hospitals and volunteering at events.

Several events are being planned for April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. These are the organization’s biggest focus months.

Bennett works at the office on Parsonage Street in-person three days a week and two days remote to limit the risk of exposure to Covid.

If interested in volunteering at Pee Dee Coalition, call Bennett at 843-758-7815 or email him at dbennett@peedeecoalition.org.

He encouraged people to volunteer because there is always somewhere that someone needs help.

“The best part about volunteering is that you can gain so much from helping a person,” Bennett said. “I encourage people to reach out and do different things in the community to help each other.”