Our View (Editorial), as published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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They are the crossing guards who help your children navigate traffic. The folks who ladle stew at the local soup kitchen. The people hammering nails in the frame of a house being built for a low-income family. One of them is the guy who plays bridge with your beloved Nana - and lets her win.
They are among the thousands of people across the St. Louis region who donate their time, skills and talents to help make life better for the rest of us. Yet, despite their numbers and the critical role they play in helping our region function, volunteers often are a forgotten and invisible army.
An estimated 61 million Americans performed volunteer work last year, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. That's more than a quarter of the nation's population. The group released a report in partnership with the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau to mark this week, which is
National Volunteer Week
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Volunteer rates here are higher than the national average - 32 percent in Missouri and 29 percent in Illinois - according to the report. That's great news. But the need for volunteers is ongoing. With government funding for many social programs being slashed, it likely will grow. Nationwide, the volunteer rate was 27 percent in 2002 and has remained close to that level for the last five years. The number dipped slightly in 2006.
Among the more than 40,000 residents in Missouri and Illinois who volunteer for the United Way of Greater St. Louis and its member agencies are people like:
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Anne Fuszner, of Marthasville, who retired after 36 years as a certified public accountant and now helps elderly people balance their checkbooks and keep track of their savings. She's a volunteer with a money management program jointly operated by Lutheran Senior Services and Jewish Family and Children's Services.
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Amit Shintre, 17, a Parkway North High School student, who helped form an American Red Cross
Club at his school. He has recruited club members, written articles for the YouthCorps newsletter and led planning efforts for YouthCorps service projects and events.
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Sue Lowry, 58, of Swansea, who started a Secret Santa Program 10 years ago for Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois. Mrs. Lowry distributes "Dear Santa" letters to area foster children and other needy kids, matches children with sponsors, wraps presents and hauls the gifts to pickup areas, among other things. As a result of her efforts, up to 1,000 children a year get Christmas gifts who otherwise might have gone without.
United Way and its member organizations have volunteer opportunities - in St. Louis and 15 surrounding Illinois and Missouri counties - for youth starting at age 8, young adults, families, individuals and employee groups, said Rick Skinner, vice president of the organization's Volunteer Center and board member of the St. Louis Council of Directors of Volunteer Services. Opportunities range from quick-hits that last only an hour to long-term commitments with groups such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri.
National Volunteer Week is a good time to thank those who give of themselves unselfishly. It also is a good time to consider rolling up your sleeves and joining in. You can read to pre-schoolers, develop leadership skills as a scout leader, help out at a hospital, coach sports, paint a classroom at a youth center, run errands for someone living with AIDS, the list goes on and on.
Volunteering can bring a deep sense of reward and fulfillment, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. Squeezing volunteer work into a busy, demanding week is no small feat. Our hats are off to all of you who donate your time and talents to help make the region a better place.
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