A little more than a month ago, I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of San Diego. The scenic landscapes, the intriguing history, and the weather are some of the few characteristics that made me fall in love with the city. A few weeks after I came back to NY, the news of the various wild fires in San Diego devastated me. Then I began hearing about the overwhelming number of volunteers helping out at Qualcomm Stadium; the insane amount of donations being received on a daily basis; firefighters from all over the country coming to help out. It will never cease to amaze me the ability of individuals giving their time to help another individual when times are tough. Granted, tragedies aren't the only time for volunteerism to shine, but sometimes people will be influence by these tragedies and want to continue giving back in some way.

I found this article about people who volunteered during the San Diego wildfires. READ IT

Yesterday I got an invite in the mail to a "Very Important Volunteer Brunch" at the local homeless shelter I volunteer at. "Me? " I thought, "I'm not very important."

But then I thought through what I've accomplished in the year since I've been volunteering there. I hosted a dinner for residents, bringing my co-workers with me to cook spaghetti for 75 people. I watch the kids two nights a month at Children's Hour while their parents attend Life Skills classes, critical to helping them get back on their feet. I helped streamline the Children's Hour program when staff needed ideas on how to improve the program. When the Children's Coordinator needed extra tutors, I took on tutoring a young boy. And when the Program Coordinator had an idea for a new program - a Mom's Night Out support group for graduates of the shelter - I joined the committee to create the program.

It got me thinking - maybe I am important to them. But what is more poignant is how important the shelter has become to me. It's a community I am a part of. When I run into the parents & children I work with, we talk and I am genuinely interested in how they are doing. Making sure the child I tutor succeeds in school is one of my priorities. Watching the kids after a long day of work is the perfect de-stressor for me. And, most importantly, it keeps my life in perspective and teaches me how much I have to be thankful for.

In the past few years, United Way of New York City has been able to connect employees of 40 corporate partners with approximately 50 community-based organizations through our volunteer programs. As a volunteer coordinator, I’ve had the unique opportunity to witness first-hand the effects that volunteerism has on these organizations. From childcare centers to food pantries, many are understaffed and in constant need of volunteers.

On a recent visit to a childcare center in Brooklyn, I realized the overwhelming benefits of volunteerism. The walls in the hallway of the school were covered by a dull, chipping paint, which was hardly a welcoming entrance to the group of children that passed through it each day. Although the administrators of the childcare center wanted to make the entrance more inviting, they lacked the $12,000 it would cost to hire a contractor. This is where United Way stepped in. Through United Way, a group of 40 corporate volunteers PriceWaterhouse Coopers painted the center’s classrooms and hallway -- replacing the lifeless paint with new intricate colors. The dreary walls are now filled with vibrant shades of blue, green, and purple.

As I left the center and walked to the subway, I thought about the impact of the volunteers on this site, and what a worthwhile cause it was to create a better learning environment for the school’s young students. Our volunteer project spanning the afternoon of one day may seem small in some respects but it creates a powerful ripple effect. If we all act in a way to “be the change we want to see in the world,� these are the perfect afternoon activities. And nothing was more confirming of this thought than seeing the delighted faces of the children as they entered the newly dawned hallways of their school.

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I was randomly surfing the web... YES I sometimes still have time for random web surfing, and came across Wikipedia's definition of 'Volunteer' @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer. According to them these are the reasons people are likely to volunteer:

• Altruism


• Quality of life


• Giving back


• Sense of duty


• Religious


• Financial


• Social

While I agree with these aspects of volunteering-each are also all portions of why I volutneer... I think they lacked ONE simple reason -- 'Just Because'



So in interests of why you volunteer, check off why you volunteer.

Cheers,
BphaM

Victim of the positive life-changing impact that Volunteerism has on volunteers that is.

An extraordinary volunteer from South East Michigan attended United Way's Alternative Spring Break back in March and had no foresight of how much it was going to change his life. It's amazing how much growth and insight he's gained through just a week long volunteerism service project.

"… Being a 20 year-old African-American male, attending The University of Michigan-Dearborn, I thought life finally made sense and there was nothing more to add. I figured I would receive my degree, choose a career and make a living for myself. Little did I know that one experience such as Alternative Spring Break through United Way for Southeastern Michigan and United Way for America would change my perspective on life.



While it's easy to see the power and leverage a volunteer may have to change and/or improve lives of the community, it's just as easy to forget or underestimate the power that those lives changed and/or improved have on us, as volunteers.

Adam's great realization continues on, to a point where a lot of us have yet to reach:

"… With this new reason to live, I no longer have to hope for change but have faith in change. By definition faith is a belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. I like to think of faith as the belief to sit in a chair, knowing that chair will hold and support your weight, dismissing the fact your body mass or weight. So with this faith, I've internalized within my conscious that I will make a difference and I do matter in mobilizing change. Martin Luther King Jr. said; 'This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom' ... We must move forward knowing that we are the advocates for change and our destination rest upon our decisions …�"

It's amazing to think that this insightful volunteer is only 20 years old. I'll be the first to say that we all need to learn what Adam Harris already knows before he’s turned 21 years old.

To read more of Adam Harris' brilliant essay, go to United Way of South East Michigan's Blog.