When I was growing up I saw my dad and uncles volunteer as firefighters in my small town. They would come back from fires dirty, tired and exhausted. They seemed happy to be able to help people, so all the aches and pains were worth it.

 

My mom and aunts often put in long hours making coffee and sandwiches for the men fighting the fires.  They were on their feet for hours, often late into the night and early mornings, doing dishes and sweating over a hot stove. I thought that was what volunteering was – demanding work that gave more to the community than they got in return. My parents said they loved volunteering and that they got so much more out of helping then they gave – I could not understand how that was possible. 

 

I was so wrong. But I think I now know what they were talking about all those years. 

 

I came to this realization when I began volunteering for the American Red Cross. You see, I met this incredible group of people – the volunteers and staff of the Red Cross. To a person, they are kind, generous and outgoing. When you are in the room with them, there is a palatable sense of unity – of purpose. From vastly different backgrounds, locations and stages of life, we all have something in common – we want to help. To see that many people who regularly give their time (and more importantly themselves) to helping complete strangers is staggering. When we go out on calls it is sometimes really hard work. It can be alternately boiling hot or freezing cold (you gotta love living in the Midwest). We often are on our feet for hours at a time walking through burned out houses and over fire hoses in muddy yards.

 

It should be taxing, but I never feel burdened because during those hours we also meet the clients and the firefighters. The people we help are having arguably one of the worst days of their lives and yet, more often than not, they give us a hug or a watery smile. Suddenly we are not so tired or hot or hungry. The firefighters come to the truck wanting a cool drink and maybe a shot of sugar from our cookie stash, and it’s almost like we are giving them the keys to the kingdom. It almost gets embarrassing how many times they say ‘thank you!’

 

At the Disaster Action Team (DAT) meeting in St Louis last night, these volunteers and staff came together for what should have been a tedious update on policies and procedures. But it’s hard for a meeting to get boring when you keep breaking out in laughter. After the meeting many people (who had worked full time jobs all day) stood around and laughed even harder. 

 

I keep waiting for the really grueling work to begin so I can feel like I am giving more back to the community then I am getting back. I guess I will just have to continue volunteering until that happens. Lucky me!     

 

Lori