Volunteer Appreciation

Jenn, or soapmaker, is out of the office today taking her volunteer training at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Jenn is very excited about being able to volunteer with the aquarium. Jenn’s undergraduate work is in Biology and we both have a love of nature and all things natural. While Jenn was out of the office today, I started to think about two recent conversations.

A few weeks ago, I had jury duty, and a fellow prospective juror asked if I had pets. When I answered that we have two dogs, three cats, a bird, a turtle and fish she asked if I charged admission to our zoo. Of course, we don’t charge admission but we also think we don’t have an extraordinary situation. You see each of the pets found us, we were just open to accepting them into our lives (except the fish, we purchased them). Rescuing animals is a labor of love!

Last week we had dinner with a very good friend, Mary Martha. We go to dinner with her a few times a month and it is always a lingering dinner with great conversation which meanders all over the map (it is one of the joys of my life – meandering conversation). In this particular conversation, Mary Martha made the comment “Y’all volunteer for everything” in response to our puzzled look, she began to list things we have volunteered for over the years. We had to admit we volunteer for a lot of different organizations and events; but we expect a lot. We expect a lot of ourselves and we expect a lot of others. We just expect that others are also volunteering to make their world a better place.

Kids don't try this at home

My blog post today is a challenge. If you are a volunteer, for any group, organization or whatever – leave us a comment. Tell us why you volunteer and how you believe it changes the world around you. If you’re not volunteering right now, I encourage you to find a cause and give some of yourself. Tell about your choice in a comment. On April 30^th we will choose a winner from all the comments and send you a spring gift basket to say thank you for what you are doing for your community.

A person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service: or one who renders a service or takes part in a transaction while having no legal concern or interest – this is how Webster defines a VOLUNTEER. If you have trouble finding your volunteer niche send me an e-mail glynne AT glynnesoaps.com and I will send you some links to worthy organizations.