Last October I had one of the most satisfying volunteer experiences I could remember. The project wasn’t much different from other volunteer projects that have happened across Charlotte. It was landscape beautification around an elementary school. The school is a struggling CMS school that has over 95% of its students on free or reduced-lunch. So what made this event special?
The volunteers for this event ranged from 1st to 6th graders, plus their parents. I have participated in volunteer projects with youth before, but typically teenagers, and I hadn’t done so in a long while. We told the kids about the school and why we were helping before the event, and it translated to their effort. Sure, not all of them were 100% gung-ho, but the majority understood they had opportunities others didn’t have.
Whether pushing wheelbarrows or digging holes, there was little complaining, and they wanted the job done right. Maybe I’ve been volunteering for too long and become jaded, but when we debriefed with the kids afterwards, I had tears in my eyes. They wanted to help because they understood wanting others to have opportunities and success. Their energy had shone through.
I hope those trees and bushes brightened the lives of the kids at that school and demonstrated to them that they were cared for as part of a bigger community. I know my life was brightened and imbued with new hope as I watched those young volunteers hard at work.
-- Rob Hammock is Hands On Charlotte's Director of Strategic Partnerships
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