The Volunteer

I volunteer too much, but I can't stop!

Sometimes I volunteer because I think I need to. Teaching Sunday School was that way. I thought if my kids were in a program that was run with volunteers then I should do my time too. I didn't end up enjoying it, because teaching is not one of my gifts. My kids tell me coaching might not be one of my gifts either...oh well!

Sometimes I volunteer because I want to have inside knowledge. School is this way. If I am in the school, then I know the teachers and the kids my children are hanging out with. This doesn't mean I know everything going on, but at least it gets me in the conversation with my kids.

Sometimes I volunteer because I believe is something. Service projects are this way for me. I believe it is so important to teach my children to give back. We have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams and I feel like it is our responsibility to give back because of it. I was asked recently to help Sunday School complete a service project last Sunday. I jumped at the chance! We prepared 1000 sandwiches for 363 Ministries. It was so very rewarding! Not all service projects end up this rewarding. Many times there is a whole lot of idea and a couple of people who follow through...but not this time.

Maybe it is the story behind this one that made all the difference?
Allan Law decided after teaching in Minneapolis and working with at risk youth that there was a need for meals for homeless a majority of the year, he started making sandwiches for them. Not everyone who is homeless is near a shelter so not everyone has the opportunity to get a meal every day of the year. Mr. Law put sandwiches in his car and handed them out to people who needed something to eat. Politics aside, social services are lacking in the funding to help everyone who needs help. Not everyone has the means to get out of their situation. Not everyone is lucky like I have been in life to get a good education, a good job, and have a good life. Mr. Law recognized that and decided to help a couple of people at a time (for more information where the ministry is now visit http://www.lordoflife.org/363). Last year he served over 500,000 sandwiches. One man did that!

To see the kids of our church, kindergarten to fourth grade engaged in the service of feeding others was amazing. One little boy said “how come we didn’t make more sandwiches?” Others brought in money from their own piggy banks to pay for supplies. At the end of it all, most of the kids were so proud to see all the work finished. Even though each child may have only made 1 sandwich, in the end there were 1000 done! It was an accomplishment and it meant something to people here in our community. It also meant a lot to hear that something little, like making one sandwich, can make a big difference.

I was moved by the experience (obviously enough to write about it). When I volunteer for agencies that feed kids around the world or help with getting families on their feet in countries far away, I feel good about that. But when I helped people in our community with something so simple, it felt somehow more meaningful. And to have Mr. Law present to talk with the kids and tell them his story…well maybe that really was the difference. His story has power because it is so personal and ordinary, yet so impactful. It makes all the volunteering worth it.