Opinion
Sunday Night
MaryHelen Swanson, editor
The month of April is set aside to honor and remember many groups, many worthy causes and many special people. Without a doubt, volunteers are among the best of all of these people. In fact, for many of the other causes, volunteers are the backbone of their existence. When did you last encounter a volunteer? Volunteers are everywhere. They work with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the 4-H program, in the schools, and with community organizations working to help the youth of our communities become happy, secure, law abiding citizens. Volunteers coach, teach, mentor, advise and listen to kids. Volunteers open their homes to children who are hurting, open their wallets to donate to childrenís programs and open their hearts to share the love some children especially need. And the children are learning what volunteering is about. They visit nursing homes, make treats for seniors, and sing and dance for those who have lost the joy of life. Kids collect food for the food shelves, rake lawns, save pennies and clean up roadside ditches. Children read to ìgrandparents,î make Valentines with squiggly handwriting and bring bunches of fading flowers to shut-ins. Volunteers serve lunches at churches, stack food at food shelves, sort clothes at thrift shops, drive seniors to doctor appointments, deliver meals on wheels, give blood, plan and put on community events, and give time and energy to hospitals, libraries and nursing homes. Volunteers fight our fires, rush to aid the fallen and rescue pets from precarious predicaments. Volunteers walk to cure cancer, bike to fight MS, and run for healthy hearts. Volunteers put together floats for parades, paint houses for Habitat friends, flip pancakes, roast corn and cook up kettles of soup for community causes. The list is endless. Volunteers donít get paid - at least not money. Their reward is in an occasional letter, sometimes a hug, a smile, sometimes a medal to wear around their neck or a plaque to hang on the wall. Sometimes volunteers donít get noticed at all and many like it that way. In fact, try taking a picture of a group of volunteers and theyíre often pushing each other to the front row preferring to remain out of the spotlight. Thatís just the kind of people volunteers are. In your lifetime, volunteers probably helped you out more times than you can imagine. And you, as a volunteer, have probably been busy doing unto others for the love of humanity more hours than you think. You work all year long, in every aspect of community life. You probably say ìyesî too quickly and rush out after dinner too many nights to attend a meeting or offer your help at a volunteer event. Your Saturdays are filled with projects, programs and practices. You share your talents, your money, your education, your time and your love. And you do it with a smile. You put others first. You have a genuine love of people that pushes you to do things for others without expecting anything in return. And the funny thing is, the more you volunteer, the more time and energy you have to commit to helping others. It really does work that way. Imagine what this world would be like if all the volunteers quit. Better yet, letís take time this week, a week set aside especially to honor people of all ages who give so willingly of themselves, to acknowledge these wonderful people. Thanks, volunteers, we couldnít live without you.
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