meaning of "shift from a project to a person"

[chebu]

Could you instruct me the meaning of "shift from a project to a pesron"
of the following sentence in a novel.


(Bet says that she has found the dead body of her uncle, and Shelby got curious in this story. Both girls are 13 years old)

Shelby was looking at Bet with rounded eyes, as if her summer charity had shifted from a project to a person."You're the one who found him?" she (
Shelby)asked.

 

[Mister Micawber]

.
as if her summer charity had shifted from a project to a person = she suddenly became interested. Some people volunteer for charity work as a kind of personal, conceptual 'project', but then when they meet the recipients of their benefaction, they are surprised into a greater commitment to humanity.
.

 

[chebu]

To Mister Micawber

Thank you very much for your detailed instruction!:-D