Feb
15
Written by:
Mr. Harbaugh
2/15/2010 11:29 AM
Volunteers are key to the operation of so many parts of our lives that we take for granted, especially around a small town and a small town school district; volunteers are often the busiest people around, yet they still find time to get things done.
If you want something to get done, ask somebody who is already busy. It's one of those strange but true facts of life, and thank goodness. If the state of the world were left to the people who weren't busy doing one thing or another, we'd be in trouble. Nothing would get done. It's a great example of the 80/20 principle: 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. Just watch a road crew at a construction site next time you're driving down the highway and you'll see what I mean.
My mother-in-law and her twin sister both fit into the busy category. Whether it's putting together car shows that raise money for local charities, planning and working behind the scenes at the Fall Festival, or generating thousands of dollars of revenue every school year for Gobles athletic programs in the concession stands, they are "can do" people, and they get it done. Consider the trouble that goes into making sure spectators have a bag of popcorn when they come up to the high school for the big game.
The work of the concession stand is not a three-hour job every other Friday night. It starts days before with generating a shopping list and making a trip to a bulk food store in Kalamazoo for nacho cheese, hot chocolate mix, pretzels with salt, etc., then cooking and preparing food for the better part of a day before the game.
Game day the prep work is underway in the concession stand long before athletes are on the field: there are shelves to be stocked, weenies to roast, drinks to chill, popcorn to pop, and systems to get ready for kick off. Then finally, long after the spectators have gone home and the lights of the stadium are dimmed, the work finally finishes when the dishes are done, the floor is swept, cupboards and coolers are restocked, and everything is back in place.
I can't imagine what the school would have to pay somebody to do all that work, but we couldn't afford it. And they do it for free, out of a sense of helping make our schools better to the tune of thousands of dollars every year. This is money the athletic program needs to run programs at the school that doesn't have to come out of other budgets for things like paper and text books and those test forms with the bubbles on them for the #2 pencils. Every little chili dog helps, and somebody has to make them, serve them, and clean up the mess afterwards.
In this day of budget cuts and financial woes, volunteers like Carol and Susan make a huge difference. And there are untold dozens of others around here who fit in the busy volunteer category, who are making a difference for the programs and organizations that are the backbone of life as we know it. During Homecoming week I knew I could call on a neighbor for help with digging out a mud pit, and that he'd help if he could. And sure enough, he and his wife took time and trouble to do something that helped a couple of hundred kids have a great experience at Homecoming. Years from now nobody will remember who dug the mud pit for the tug-of-war, but these young people will surely remember the fun they had that evening.
It's easy to feel powerless about the financial challenges facing the schools and other important, under-funded organizations. What can anyone of us do alone? It would be great if everybody could just write a nice fat check to the schools and be done with it, but this community is a little short of Rockefellers.
I suggest that making a huge difference doesn't really require doing anything more than rolling up the sleeves and pitching in where you can, just like that small percentage of very busy people already doing 80% of the work. Who needs Rockefellers when you have people willing to give a hand? No amount of money can buy the spirit of community, and serving others is priceless.
1 comment(s) so far...
Re: Giving Volunteers A Hand
Coery...What a great tribute to two very amazing women and to all the volunteers out there. This also helps us to realize that a simple bag of popcorn isn't so simple and so we should enjoy it even more for the effort someone took so we were able to buy it. Probablybiggest message is that we need to look for more ways to "light a candle" and make the world a better place. Our time can often be a bigger gift then our money.
By Jean Ann Harbaugh on
2/21/2010 8:39 AM
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