Bittersweet Irony
It is 5 a.m. in Lake Charles and I am having a hard time sleeping. This is horribly ironic considering all that I have wanted for the past 5 weeks is a solid nights sleep and now that ASB has drawn to a close I can't seem to bring myself to crash.
The past month has quite possibly been the best month of my life. I know that seems like a rather lofty statement considering I am 25 and have 302 other months I could compare this one with. But when you think about all that has been accomplished in the past 30 days, it is impossible to equate that with anything else I have ever been a part of. Nearly a half a million dollars credited toward Louisiana's debt to FEMA. 12,000 + hours of volunteer service. Over 300 volunteers. One state impacted by the work of some incredible and dynamic young people willing to spend their spring break with United Way. Although we can count how many houses we repaired, how many pounds of debris we removed and how many hours we volunteered, there are some things that we just cannot quantify. How much easier will Ms. Roxy sleep knowing her house is more of a home because of our work? How much more will the young people who go to Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin enjoy themselves because it is cleaner and more safe due to the hard work of our volunteers? How many people in Southwest Louisiana directly or indirectly experienced the work of United Way and our volunteers? We may never have quantifiable answers to those questions. There are some things, however, that give us brief glimpses at the true impact of our work: The heartfelt smile that spread across Ms. Roxy's face when we pulled up in our van to visit her yesterday afternoon, seeing young people laugh as they carried canoes to the water at Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin, and the overwhelming amount of "thank you's" we get anytime someone knows or finds out who we are and why we are here in Lake Charles. Our work, in no way, went unnoticed.
Nails have been hammered, holes have been dug, friends have been made and communities and lives have been improved. That is what United Way's ASB is all about.
So when I do finally fall asleep, I will rest easy knowing that I was able to be a part of this incredible experience. Thank you to all of you that made this program the success that it has been and will hopefully continue to be.
The past month has quite possibly been the best month of my life. I know that seems like a rather lofty statement considering I am 25 and have 302 other months I could compare this one with. But when you think about all that has been accomplished in the past 30 days, it is impossible to equate that with anything else I have ever been a part of. Nearly a half a million dollars credited toward Louisiana's debt to FEMA. 12,000 + hours of volunteer service. Over 300 volunteers. One state impacted by the work of some incredible and dynamic young people willing to spend their spring break with United Way. Although we can count how many houses we repaired, how many pounds of debris we removed and how many hours we volunteered, there are some things that we just cannot quantify. How much easier will Ms. Roxy sleep knowing her house is more of a home because of our work? How much more will the young people who go to Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin enjoy themselves because it is cleaner and more safe due to the hard work of our volunteers? How many people in Southwest Louisiana directly or indirectly experienced the work of United Way and our volunteers? We may never have quantifiable answers to those questions. There are some things, however, that give us brief glimpses at the true impact of our work: The heartfelt smile that spread across Ms. Roxy's face when we pulled up in our van to visit her yesterday afternoon, seeing young people laugh as they carried canoes to the water at Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin, and the overwhelming amount of "thank you's" we get anytime someone knows or finds out who we are and why we are here in Lake Charles. Our work, in no way, went unnoticed.
Nails have been hammered, holes have been dug, friends have been made and communities and lives have been improved. That is what United Way's ASB is all about.
So when I do finally fall asleep, I will rest easy knowing that I was able to be a part of this incredible experience. Thank you to all of you that made this program the success that it has been and will hopefully continue to be.
