Altruism Plus Commitment - Priceless
A Four Minute Read
What do envelope stuffers, cooks, drivers, crisis counselors, dog handlers, pilots, teachers, musicians, surgeons and dishwashers have in common?
Every single one of them can be found volunteering somewhere.
A couple weeks ago, my wife and I got a fresh look at what volunteerism looks like in a nearby small town. We went to drop off our 7 year-old grand-daughter at a four-day art camp. Having initially driven to the wrong park, we were ten minutes late. As we arrived, we observed beneath the main pavilion, a scattering of a dozen or so kids aged six to twelve, art supplies, and confusion.
Piloting this ship of creativity was a woman with a full head of grey hair and patience. She had set up a few stations for the multiple steps of the morning’s first project - making artist smocks from a roll of heavy material and pieces of bailing twine. She was marooned at her first station with one student.
“Milly,” who had led this camp for six years, was glad to see us because neither of her two assistants had showed up. The first was a college student who cancelled out the night before, so he could spend the last days of summer break with his fiancé. The second looked like a no-show as well.
The kids were milling around aimlessly with the exception of the student Milly was working with. We watched as he tried to trace out and cut the material for his smock. In the next stations, they were to mark and punch some holes, measure and cut their twine pieces and then tie some knots - simple for the two pre-teens but not so for the younger kids.
Being fast learners of extremely basic tasks, Emily and I set out to help our grand-daughter and one other young lad as they made their smocks. After we each helped a couple additional kids work through the process, Milly’s tardy assistant showed up and graciously took over.
The first thing I said to Emily as we got into the car was - “Imagine various forms of this same scenario playing out thousands of times all across the U.S. every summer - and for that matter, all around the world.” Sure, the details would differ but the common theme is basically the same - decent, imperfect people giving of themselves for others. None of this altruism makes it into our news feeds or social media because it is so invisibly common.
Looking Back to Ethiopia 2001
I got to travel to Ethiopia back in 2001 as part of a four member contingency from our regional Presbyterian Church. I spent a couple weeks in the western portion of this most beautiful, albeit depressing, country. The church had their multifaceted agenda which certainly included evangelism. But they were also overseeing their program to build more radio transmission towers, enabling emergency communications through great distances.
My personal goal was to explore the possibility of eventually setting up a medical clinic in an underserved area - meaning just about anywhere in Ethiopia.
As we traveled from day to day through remote villages and eventually the capital city of Addis Ababa, I found myself guarding my front pocket and its irreplaceable contents. The poverty, negligible infrastructure, and lack of safe drinking water, were not new to me. But it was more widespread and searing than I’d previously experienced.
I knew not a single word of the twenty different languages spoken in this African country and really disliked the food. The thought of someone stealing my passport or wallet forced me to acknowledge how inflexible and mightily privileged I’d become.
Reinforcing the awareness of my own middle-aged-wimpiness, was my periodic encounters with long-term - missionaries, medical providers, and those working with non-government organizations. It was these adventurous, courageous souls who volunteered to work in isolation and with minimal support for years. And these sacrifices were made solely for the benefit of those occupying the lowest rungs of the world’s ladder.
People may disagree with their missions but their selflessness spoke volumes to me.
I’ve dabbled in various types of volunteer work over the years and I’ve observed a couple common themes. Unless the sponsoring organizations are overtly self-serving, they strive for connection with those in need, and they resist all forms of judgement. Those two goals are inseparable. Consequently volunteers as a whole have a tendency to blur the line between “Us and Them” - and that’s always a worthwhile endeavor.
Just for kicks and giggles - take a gander at your county’s website for volunteerism. I’ll bet that you’ll be pleasantly surprised that volunteers are doing great work right under your noses and with zero recognition. I did, and I was.
Thanks for volunteering your blog, Mark, despite your second bout with Covid. I am reminded of my favorite line from Dostoevsky: “Love in action is a harsh and terrible thing compared to love in dreams.”