It is not uncommon for Marcus to come home and find me welling with tears over a commercial about abused dogs, a catalog for Save the Children, a homeless person on the street or a mother who can't feed her children. I've always been this way and have always had a strong desire to help. The most recent was the Save the Children's catalog. Did you know that you can buy cows, goats and chickens for families in Africa? I start bawling at the idea of something so simple could help parents provide for their families. For the last 3 years or so I have played with the idea of starting up a soup kitchen in Stillwater. My main problem is - I have zero idea of where to start. I've always enjoyed the idea of giving money and clothes but I knew what most organizations really needed was time. So, I decided to go to part-time as manager at Northside and give up a few afternoons a week to volunteer.
I picked up 3 volunteer jobs, the Stillwater Surgery Center, a school for mentally handicapped children, and a reading buddy at Sangre Elementary to Ms. Cox's 3rd grade class.
The one that lasted the least amount of time was the school for mentally handicapped children. I did not get to work with the children as I had hoped, instead I was cutting out things for hours on end in a room by myself where the occasional teacher would pass through and not say hello. Now, don't get me wrong, I knew that volunteer work wasn't going to be easy but I did figure I'd at least be acknowledged. So, a few weeks later and a cramping hand I decided to drop that one and give Sangre an extra day.
Volunteer job #2 was the Stillwater Surgery Center, which lasted several months. Every Thursday I would show up around lunch and leave aroud 4 (unless there wasn't anything to do, in which case I'd leave early.) My job was to get patients a drink and snack after they had their procedure, bring their loved ones back into the recovery room, and clean the room after they had left. It was either very fast paced, or very slow. At first I really enjoyed it, I loved getting to know the nurses and helping people out. After a while I noticed that the nurses still weren't warming up to me, and were often a little bit rude to me. I had a desperate desire to say, "Hey, did you know that I'm not getting paid to do this? I'm here to help you for free." But, I didn't. I know this makes me sound snotty and I really wasn't doing it to get recognition or anything but I did at least want to be treated nicely. So, before long I got engaged and decided to dedicate my Thursdays to wedding planning instead of the Surgery Center.
Volunteer Job #3 - Reading and Sangre. I started reading 2 days a week (after I quit the other school) with Ms.Cox's 3rd grade class. Generally she would pair me up with a student that was a bit behind on his/her reading level. Overtime I was paired over and over again with the same girl, I'll call her A. A and I read and read and we actually started to get pretty close until summer came. Lucky for me she happened to get a teacher I knew in 4th grade and with her permission I continued reading throughout 4th grade. Today A is in 5th grade and has made leaps and bounds in her reading. I couldn't be more proud of her. It scares me to think that in just a few short months I won't be able to read with her anymore as she will be moving on to the middle school. Sniff sniff. She is the most wonderful young person I have ever had the privilege of meeting.
So, here we are 3 years later and I have picked up volunteer job #4 - I have become what can only be described as a teachers assistant to Ms. Gober's 1st grade class. On Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:30 you can find me sorting homework, cutting out construction paper, reading with students, helping students finish homework, and the scariest of all - I actually was a sub one day and don't plan on doing that one again. There is something about the smell of elementary schools that comforts me, surprising when you take into account that I HATED school from kindergarten to college, maybe its the stale macaroni and glue, maybe its the melted crayons and construction paper. 1st graders say the darndest things and being in that classroom is the biggest crack up of my day.
So, now that I have a little volunteering under my belt, maybe its time for something a little bigger. Though now that we have a baby on the way, it may have to wait. Either way, I know I still would love to have a soup kitchen, become a foster parent, build houses in Africa, and help anyone in need get their life back together. I'm so thankful to have married someone who understands the desire to help anyone and everyone at all costs. So, let the journey begin...
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