Voluntarism & Values for the Next Generation

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 1^st to 6^th 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

Laurel's Inspiration

When you think about volunteering what is it that you think of? Do you think of dirt and grime? Do you think of homeless shelters and food banks? Or hammers and nails? And, what is it that makes us choose to volunteer, because in all honesty none of the above sounds particularly exciting.

For me it’s the people. Having a classroom full of kindergarteners saying “thank you” is one of the greatest feelings on earth! Knowing that those hammer and nails will be used to shelter a family makes every sore muscle well worth it. Everyone volunteers for different reasons but as National Volunteer Week is upon us I hope that everyone will take the time to remember the basics of why they choose to give.

Sometimes we all need a reminder that what we do makes a difference. You may think “I mostly just help with park cleanups/trash pickups/animal shelters….” but that child who doesn’t have a yard but gets to play in the park appreciates it. And the family who adopts a loving pet from the shelter appreciates the time and energy you put into helping take care of that animal. The students who are proud of the school that they go to because of the beautification project you helped with, they will remember that. The seniors who you spend time visiting, you brighten their days. The tutoring you provide to a student studying for the GED, you are helping them to access a much better future.

There is a story about a little boy walking down a beach that is covered in starfish. As he is walking he picks up some of the starfish and gently throws them into the ocean. A man stops him and asks him what he is doing. The boy responds, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean, otherwise they will die on the beach.” The man says “But there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish, you can’t make a difference!” The boy responded by picking up another starfish and as he threw it back into the water, he said “I made a difference for that one.”

That story is one of the reasons I first got involved in volunteering and whenever if forget why I do what I do, I remember that story and I pick up that next starfish.

-- Laurel Fender is a member the the AmeriCorps program currently serving at Hands On Charlotte