Giving All Year

Some people carry Christmas around all year—giving their time, their money, their love, and themselves, while gaining in return the gift known only to those who give freely.

With the holiday season winding down, we pack away ornaments, ribbons, and such, but one thing many among us will never pack away is the spirit of giving.

Such people carry Christmas around all year—giving their time, their money, their love, and themselves, while gaining in return the gift known only to those who give freely. Such people are many, but we've chosen three to look at one slice of what needs to be done and how one might go about doing it.

These three volunteers give the gift of themselves to feed the hungry, help others learn to read, and assist families with unique needs. Each has found that opportunities for such work continue year round —as do the rewards.

Battling Illiteracy

When Ava Edlin of Lebanon, Ind., took a leadership class several years ago, "They said, 'If you're going to pick a battle, pick one you can make a difference in,'" she recalls. "I took that to heart, and I pick my battles carefully."

Edlin, 45, chose to fight illiteracy.

As a volunteer for Boone County Project Literacy, she has tutored immigrants in English, presided over adult spelling bees, and helped train tutors to train other tutors—spreading seeds as it were. "It's in everything I do," Edlin says of her volunteer work.

Edlin's love for the written word helped attract her to literacy work. "But I think more than that, it is a good thing," she explains. "I remember seeing people who could not read well in school and always wondered why.

"Think about going to a zoo and not being able to read about the animals (or) going shopping and not knowing what coupons go with what product."

When she joined Project Literacy, her first assignment was tutoring 14-year-old Lena, a recent arrival from Russia. Edlin was awed at the prospect of teaching Lena to speak and read English. "I didn't speak a word of Russian," she says with a laugh. "And then I said, 'Oh, sure. Why not?"

Edlin eventually began helping Lena's mother, Tamara, with rudimentary English as well, and the two families became friends, enjoying shopping trips and home-cooked meals together. "We almost adopted the entire family," she says.

Tamara and Lena have since moved away, but the families stay in touch. "I don't think I was their savior, but the little push that I gave them has set them on a course."

Edlin's work allows her less time now, but she's still active in Project Literacy orienting new volunteers and working on the annual fund-raising spelling bee, among other things.

"It's just one of those things that I firmly believe in," she explains. "Something I feel very proud of."

Feeding the Hungry

Budge Litchfield of Heath, Mass., had barely settled in as chair of the missions committee at a local church when he learned that Good Neighbors, a volunteer group which helped feed low-income families in four neighboring towns, was in danger of dying out. Litchfield, a third-grade teacher and volunteer firefighter, spearheaded an effort to revive it, drawing on the resources of four local churches, and hasn't come up for breath since.

"People have a responsibility to make things work in small towns," he says. "Personal involvement is part of what makes small towns special."

Good Neighbors represents hard work—organizationally and physically—for Litchfield and his colleagues.

"The July distribution can be one sweaty affair," he says with a grin. "You get a hot, sticky day and, well, a distribution averages a ton and a half to two tons of food. By the time you've moved that a couple of times ... whew!"

"People are very, very, very appreciative," of the effort, Litchfield says, and recipients of the food also look out for others in need.

"We've had people who have called to say that things were better for them and we could take their names off the list 'to give the food to someone who needs it more than me.'"

Looking out for the kids

Rosaleen Wilcox dedicates herself to keeping youth out of trouble—no easy task when many of the kids she tries to help have parents in prison.

In her job as head of Matthew House of Hospitality in Monroe, Wash., a place to stay for those visiting family members in a nearby state prison, Wilcox grew alarmed at the number of youths who follow a parent into trouble. As a result, she makes it her mission, on the job and off, to lead children in a better direction.

Wilcox, 53, volunteers for Girl Scouts Behind Bars, which unites young girls with their imprisoned mothers in a constructive way, by driving across the state each month to pick up the troop members for their meetings. She also brings together young people and prisoners to learn first-hand about the wrong choices the prisoners have made. "I know they're at least thinking about what they've heard," she says.

Wilcox, from nearby Sultan, Wash., knows that bored kids usually find trouble, so, along with other volunteers, she established an increasingly popular project called Safe Stop for middle and high school students. Every Saturday evening in the middle school, Wilcox and others provide chaperoned fun for youth—athletics, board games, arts and crafts, and video viewing among other activities.

"I knew we had hit the mark when I started noticing the girls were dressed for it," she says with a laugh. "It's become a fixture. It's not solving the world, but it gives young people a place to go on a Saturday night instead of somebody's house where ? there are no parents home."

It's also meeting its goal; Safe Stop has resulted in a 60-65 percent drop in Saturday vandalism and domestic violence calls, says Fred Walser, Sultan's police chief.

Wilcox's own satisfaction from her work reaches beyond the good she does.

"My children have always known that I feel good about what I do," she says. "That's my gift to my children—that I can show them there's a way to find something in your life that you really care about."

Make your own year-round effort?

How one gives depends in large measure on what one has to offer. An artist with little money might teach shut-ins or others how to paint, for example.

Rather than contribute to the Salvation Army, one might volunteer for it. Founded 135 years ago, the Army is synonymous with giving, reaching around the world to house the homeless, feed the hungry, and treat the ill. Its reach is extended by 1.5 million volunteers and donors in our country who share the organization's ministry and mission: to meet human needs.

Indeed, one of the most powerful ways to connect with others and solve social problems is to reach out to one person, commit one act of kindness, offer the best we have to others who need it, and then watch the giving gather steam.

The Points of Light Foundation, created to engage volunteers to tackle social problems, offers simple ways to connect with others through service:

• Organize grocery shopping trips for the elderly.
• Collect toys for a domestic violence shelter, where mothers often arrive with few belongings.
• Coach a person in resume writing and job interview skills—an investment in their future.
• Plant a garden at a local senior citizens home, and help tend it. Flowers for cutting, such as cosmos, are especially nice.
• Help tutor a child in reading or math skills.
• Encourage your company to "adopt" a classroom or local school.
• Sort food or clothes at a local social service agency.
• Do yard work for an elderly or homebound person.
• Teach environmental awareness to kids.
• Clean up a neighborhood park or recreation area.

Each community has its own unique needs. Look around yours to see where you can reach out, connect with someone, and make a difference in someone's life, including your own.

Tinky Weisblat, a writer in Hawley, Mass., is a regular contributor to American Profile.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article