Do you volunteer?
Do you volunteer often or have a favorite place where you volunteer?
What makes up a person who volunteers?
Is it boredom?
Is it court ordered?
Lack of Employment?
Desire to learn a new skill?
Or is it passion for helping others?
I think there are as many reasons why people volunteer as there are volunteers.
All I can attest to is why I volunteer.
I spent some time volunteering today at Habitat for Humanity, my former place of employment.
{I wonder how many people end up volunteering where they used to work.
I imagine that number might be small.}
I saw some familiar faces in the office, and met some new ones.
The folks who have filled my former position, have asked for some assistance and history in regards to the work they are doing.
At first I thought it might be awkward going back to the job I left,
but it wasn't. The new staff are very welcoming.
It felt familiar, almost comfortable.
While spending some time sifting and sorting through papers and files,
the volunteer coordinator and I had a chance to visit a bit about why,
...why do people volunteer?
How do you invite more people to volunteer?
How do you explain to a group of students from Japan, why the volunteering spirit is so strong in the United States?
And ultimately she asked me, why do I still volunteering?
I answered all her questions as best I could and used a couple of stories as examples.
She asked me if I had any of what I shared could be found in the old files.
I said, "no, its just in my head."
And she said, "Its clear that you are passionate about this work."
She is right. It isn't just information in my head, its in my heart.
She then asked me if I would begin writing the stories down for her.
I said 'yes' right off the bat. I have never been very good at saying 'no'.
I couldn't help but wonder...
How do I begin to tell the story, the many stories?
Where do I begin?
Do I begin with...
the ins and outs,
the whys and hows,
or my journey of volunteering and working with volunteers?
Do I begin with the people?
The absolutely amazing people I have had the pleasure of working with over the years....
Lord knows, I have a lot of stories to tell!
I think there are good ones, if I can tell them right.
I thought to myself, "this is a huge task! She doesn't know what she is asking of me.
Many of the stories are personal, or a better way of putting this is
I am emotionally tied to the people in the stories.
I don't know if I can do them justice.
However, I agreed to try.
Sometimes I still wonder how I landed at Habitat for Humanity.
Many days I feel like a shy little girl from Kansas,
who is still wondering how she ended up in Salem Oregon!
When I think about it...
How does a mom/day care provider/youth minister end up working for a construction company?
Oh that's right, I started by volunteering!
I was new in town and bored.
And, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.
The past 4+ years I volunteered, then worked, then volunteered again at Habitat have stretched and pulled me in ways I would have never gone on my own.
On the build site I did everything from set, pour, and strip foundations to roofing, and finishing work. In the office I did everything from simple filing to writing newspaper articles including being interviewed for a fundraising video.
Being bored is what got me on the build site.
Being passionate is what keeps me volunteering.
My family didn’t travel much at all when I was a kid.
I was 30 years old before I ever got on an airplane.
But in the past 20 years or so I have been to Chicago and seen the Sears Tower.
I have seen the space needle in Seattle, Coit Tower in San Francisco, and crossed the Golden gate Bridge by car and on foot.
I’ve seen 3 Frank Lloyd Wright houses, the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, I’ve been in the book depository in Dallas.
I’ve seen the Oklahoma City Memorial and been to the top of the St. Louis Arch…
3 times, no wait... 4 times.
In my limited travels I have seen some wonderful architecture, buildings, and homes.
Yet all of these structures pale in comparison to what I have seen on Wendy St., Ford St., Samaritan Lane, or any Habitat for Humanity build site around the world.
There is something about watching a home go up that brings tears of joy.
The awe, and the wonder, that go through me when I watch walls being raised pale in comparison to standing before the greatest structures in the world.
The ultimate is standing side by side one of my children working hard to raise that wall.
There is something about knowing that you are building with a family, and helping to house a family, that surpasses any work designed by any architect, or constructed by any company. And sharing that feeling and experience with my children escalates the joy of it all.
Even though I haven't fit volunteering on the build site into my schedule as often as volunteering in the office or on committees, it remains my favorite kind of volunteering.
But for now... I best get to writing.
Share your passions!
Share your volunteer stories!
Steppin' out with DWNTWN
DWNTWNimages.me
Do you volunteer often or have a favorite place where you volunteer?
What makes up a person who volunteers?
Is it boredom?
Is it court ordered?
Lack of Employment?
Desire to learn a new skill?
Or is it passion for helping others?
I think there are as many reasons why people volunteer as there are volunteers.
All I can attest to is why I volunteer.
I spent some time volunteering today at Habitat for Humanity, my former place of employment.
{I wonder how many people end up volunteering where they used to work.
I imagine that number might be small.}
I saw some familiar faces in the office, and met some new ones.
The folks who have filled my former position, have asked for some assistance and history in regards to the work they are doing.
At first I thought it might be awkward going back to the job I left,
but it wasn't. The new staff are very welcoming.
It felt familiar, almost comfortable.
While spending some time sifting and sorting through papers and files,
the volunteer coordinator and I had a chance to visit a bit about why,
...why do people volunteer?
How do you invite more people to volunteer?
How do you explain to a group of students from Japan, why the volunteering spirit is so strong in the United States?
And ultimately she asked me, why do I still volunteering?
I answered all her questions as best I could and used a couple of stories as examples.
She asked me if I had any of what I shared could be found in the old files.
I said, "no, its just in my head."
And she said, "Its clear that you are passionate about this work."
She is right. It isn't just information in my head, its in my heart.
She then asked me if I would begin writing the stories down for her.
I said 'yes' right off the bat. I have never been very good at saying 'no'.
I couldn't help but wonder...
How do I begin to tell the story, the many stories?
Do I begin with...
the ins and outs,
the whys and hows,
or my journey of volunteering and working with volunteers?
Do I begin with the people?
The absolutely amazing people I have had the pleasure of working with over the years....
Lord knows, I have a lot of stories to tell!
I think there are good ones, if I can tell them right.
I thought to myself, "this is a huge task! She doesn't know what she is asking of me.
Many of the stories are personal, or a better way of putting this is
I am emotionally tied to the people in the stories.
I don't know if I can do them justice.
However, I agreed to try.
Sometimes I still wonder how I landed at Habitat for Humanity.
Many days I feel like a shy little girl from Kansas,
who is still wondering how she ended up in Salem Oregon!
When I think about it...
How does a mom/day care provider/youth minister end up working for a construction company?
I was new in town and bored.
And, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.
The past 4+ years I volunteered, then worked, then volunteered again at Habitat have stretched and pulled me in ways I would have never gone on my own.
On the build site I did everything from set, pour, and strip foundations to roofing, and finishing work. In the office I did everything from simple filing to writing newspaper articles including being interviewed for a fundraising video.
Being bored is what got me on the build site.
Being passionate is what keeps me volunteering.
My family didn’t travel much at all when I was a kid.
I was 30 years old before I ever got on an airplane. But in the past 20 years or so I have been to Chicago and seen the Sears Tower.
I have seen the space needle in Seattle, Coit Tower in San Francisco, and crossed the Golden gate Bridge by car and on foot.
I’ve seen 3 Frank Lloyd Wright houses, the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, I’ve been in the book depository in Dallas.
I’ve seen the Oklahoma City Memorial and been to the top of the St. Louis Arch…
3 times, no wait... 4 times.
In my limited travels I have seen some wonderful architecture, buildings, and homes.
Yet all of these structures pale in comparison to what I have seen on Wendy St., Ford St., Samaritan Lane, or any Habitat for Humanity build site around the world.
There is something about watching a home go up that brings tears of joy.
The awe, and the wonder, that go through me when I watch walls being raised pale in comparison to standing before the greatest structures in the world.
The ultimate is standing side by side one of my children working hard to raise that wall.
There is something about knowing that you are building with a family, and helping to house a family, that surpasses any work designed by any architect, or constructed by any company. And sharing that feeling and experience with my children escalates the joy of it all.
Even though I haven't fit volunteering on the build site into my schedule as often as volunteering in the office or on committees, it remains my favorite kind of volunteering.
But for now... I best get to writing.
Share your passions!
Share your volunteer stories!
Steppin' out with DWNTWN
DWNTWNimages.me
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