Relationships are important to Quinn Middleton, and she knew wanted to build them to help people.
This desire gave Middleton and Devin Morgenstern the idea to start The Servant’s House Ministries, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving communities around the world.
Middleton, a 20-year-old business management junior, said the idea came from an offhand comment she made to Morgenstern about a year and a half ago. He approached her about two days later with two donors already in place.
Servant’s House has three divisions. One is devoted to helping the homeless, another helps victims of human trafficking, and the third is an engineering division focused on traveling to Mexico this summer to install water filtration systems. Middleton said the divisions developed because these were the things everyone involved were passionate about.
“College is a place where people are really intellectually stimulated,” she said. “We wanted to provide a place where service was an integral part of everything we did.”
Middleton said having a nonprofit at her age does come with some challenges. As a full-time student involved with other organizations, she has a busy schedule. She also said people don’t always take it seriously because she is so young. She said the way to handle that problem is by being having a thick skin and being persistent, mature, and respectful.
Middleton said she plans on making this her full-time job after she graduates from UF.
“We wanted to make this the last job we ever had,” she said. “We wanted to work as if that’s what’s going to happen.”
The organization has grown a lot from when they first started, Middleton said. Currently, 20 students are involved with the organization, and there is a funding pledge to open a division at UCF.
“We want to empower and equip as many college students as possible,” she said. “We want to show people how easy and important it is to help your neighbor.”
Middleton said one thing she’s learned from starting a nonprofit is how easy it is to make a difference. She said what sets them apart from other nonprofits is that many nonprofits donate some resources to people in need and stop there, but for her building relationships to help people in need is what’s important.
“If Servant’s House could have a reputation for anything,” Middleton said, “I’d want it to be that we are people who really love God and each other, and we take care of the community in really humble and authentic ways.”