Community Service: Impact from the inside out

I have spent more years than I can tell you being an active volunteer.  My folks instilled in us as very young children the need to do for others.  They also instilled in us that no matter how bad you think you've got it that things are worse for someone else.   I'm going to introduce you to my 'journey' through volunteering and tell you some of the wonderful things I have discovered as a volunteer.

I'm going to go back more than 30 years for my first story: Volunteering in an adult recreation center for adults who were developmentally disabled.  It wasn't hard for me to make this decision - the facility was diagonally across from my home.  I saw people coming in and out day after day and finally curiosity drove this 13 year old to the door to see what in the world was going on.  What I found was about 75 developmentally challenged adults who not only needed my help but made you feel like a million dollars because you saw fit to take a few hours of your busy life to play a game, read a picture book or color in a coloring book with them.  Amazing that something so minor could do so much for someone else.  I even encouraged my friends in school to join me a day a week and surprise - surprise - they loved it and they began coming back on their own and bringing other friends.  It was a wonderful opportunity for all of us.  Unfortunately, cuts in funding closed this facility when I was about 16.

Then I decided to find another outlet for my desire to reach out and went to a local nursing home as a 'candy striper' (some of you will remember us, we were the little kids running around in white blouses and pink and white stripped jumpers).  We didn't do a lot of 'important' care things - we read mail to those who had problems with their eyes, we helped ladies to the rest room (we were forbidden to be alone with male patients), we helped at meal time and did other 'menial' tasks that the nurses aids (who we strove to be like) didn't like to do.  And we were abused at times (verbally and physically) by those who we were trying to help but the bottom line was that for every patient who abused us there were 3 more who were delighted to have us help them with those small tasks they could no longer accomplish themselves.

Fast forward to 18 years old and I'm married and VERY pregnant with my first child - this didn't stop me one bit! I continued volunteering in another nursing home (while working full time in a shoe shop) and continued to love it.  Unfortunately, life happens and I stopped volunteering for a period of time when I had three small children until I discovered that I could take my children along to playground groups for developmentally challenged children that needed volunteers.  My children now had the opportunity to see the value in the time I spent with 'other' families and fortunately they now are volunteers in their own right.

When my children were in school I volunteered for their scout troups, field trips, you name it if they needed volunteers I was the first 'hand up' and readily available.

Once my children were out of school (one in the Marine Corps, one an attorney and one a 'free spirit') I decided I could do more.  I searched my community which boasts 24 service organizations for the one that I felt had the biggest impact.  Eleven years later I'm as actively involved in my local organization as a person could be (I'm going to refrain from mentioning it by name for other reasons).  

I have had some wonderful opportunities to see how successful community volunteering can be - here are some examples:

Just think about a 5 year old child who is destined to never see from another country.  Think about the impact YOU as a volunteer can make on his life when you're able to invite him to your community for much needed care and discover that 100% of his vision is restored because you took the time to make a difference.

Just think about any man, woman or child who is in need of a pair of glasses or a hearing aid to help them succeed at home, work or school - and because your organization is a ground roots organization you're able to successfully obtain a hearing aid or glasses for them at no expense to them.

Just think of the impact working on assembling a braille book can have on someone who can't see - these books are assembled 100% by volunteers and they're sold at the same cost as the print books that you and I enjoy every day - why? because volunteers like you and I have taken the time out of our lives to assemble them.

Just think of the joy reflected in the face of developmentally challenged kids when you and a group of your friends take them for a day at a local carnival and they can go on as many rides as they want to, they can eat what they want to and they can enjoy all of the benefits of the carnival the same way every other child can - - and why? because a volunteer just like you and I made sure that we made the arrangements for them to do it.

Just think about the hundreds of senior citizens who are going to spend the holidays alone.  As a volunteer you assemble a group of your friends, you enlist the help of a local scout troop and you put together a luncheon event where you serve them a 'traditional' holiday dinner complete with all the trimmings, the scouts sing carols and because you've committed to making a difference you've also purchased little gifts and taken the time to wrap them.  It doesn't take a lot of time.  It's a little thing and it means so much to so many.

Today there is a news story about Senator Obama talking about a call to service in our communities where he says:

I hope you take that moment to think about what you can do to shape the future of this country we love," the Democratic presidential hopeful was to say in a University of Colorado gym. "Loving your country shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the 4th of July."

Something larger
Obama talked in almost achingly personal terms about the impact service had on him, as a boy who "spent much of my childhood adrift" and often had little idea "who I was or where I was going." But early in college, he said, values like hard work and empathy resurfaced "after a long hibernation." He eventually found himself working as a community organizer in a devastated South Side Chicago neighborhood, and said he was transformed.

Please do take the time out to give back - one way or another.  Remember one person really can make a difference and YOU are that person.  Contact your local service organizations, volunteer your time today.  We can all spare an hour a week to make life in our communities a little better for everyone who lives there.