I Remember You, Thank You!

I believe in volunteering. Whether part of an organized group or individually, volunteering is a vital part of me and I expect to pass this belief on to my children and grandchildren.

Through her volunteer efforts for church, Al-Anon, and cub scouts, my mom taught me the selflessness of volunteering. I used to think mom volunteered so much of her time because we had no money to give, yet through my own volunteer jobs I realize that it is empowering. When I volunteer, it doesn’t matter how much money I have or don’t have, it matters that I am working to make a difference in someone’s life or in our world. Strangers would approach my mom while out shopping and tell her, “I remember you when you were (fill in the blank here). Thank you!” Sometimes, the strangers were grown men that my mom had led in cub scouts. Sometimes, they were strangers from Al-Anon whose lives were changed because my mom attending meetings and shared her own awful life story about living with alcoholic family members. What struck me the most is that their lives were touched in ways that my mom could not have predicted when she took on her volunteer role.

I started volunteering separately from my mom while I was in elementary school. I helped serve lunches and clean up the lunchroom, I tutored students, and I listened to those who needed to talk. With friends, I started volunteering as a candy striper at the local hospital. I preferred to visit with the elderly patients and listen to their stories or play games with the patients in the children’s wing of the hospital. These experiences gave me the opportunity to connect with strangers and make their lives a little brighter. As I grew more independent of my family, I volunteered more of myself. I coached softball, put together a sound track for a stage production, and worked in an emergency room. Volunteering eventually led me to a job I loved when I volunteered as an investigator intern for the public defender agency. Volunteering also helped me understand my own religion and faith more deeply when I volunteered to sponsor a person going through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), and more recently, teach 6th graders about charity and social justice, key beliefs in my religious faith.

Volunteering can be mentally and physically taxing, and I struggle at times to accept that it is okay to say “no” to a volunteer opportunity. Yet, I feel most alive and empowered when I am volunteering, for I believe that my efforts touch lives in ways that I cannot see today. Someday while out shopping, I will be approached by a stranger who will tell me, “I remember you. Thank you!” I will encourage them to pass it on by volunteering.