Are you still looking for your 15 minutes of fame? No need to look further than your own community.
Reality shows come and go. Foolhardy stunts can end in the hospital, or worse. Acts of violence and aggression will lead to tragedy in someone’s life.
No, if you want fame among your peers, if you want to make an impact on other people and make a difference in their lives and in your own, be a volunteer.
Volunteer Week has come and gone, but it’s one of those celebrations that should be held every day.
Without volunteers, we wouldn’t have any of our major celebrations like Graffiti Days, Rodeo, May Ball, Fall Fair, River Festival, Mothers Day Fly In and Desert Daze, and a slew of smaller events such as golf tournaments, art shows, Hallowe’en and Christmas parties, bingoes, plant swaps, farmers markets, thrift stores, soccer and hockey games...
The list is actually endless, and so is the list of volunteer organizations that provide these events and services for us. If you have attended only one event organized by volunteers or benefited from a service provided by a volunteer group, then your life has been directly affected by volunteers.
Make a difference in someone else’s life and become a volunteer. People often say that there are very few volunteers in our towns because the same people sit on every group. That’s not true. Actuallty, there are a lot of volunteers here - there’s just a lot more going on, and room for a lot more volunteers.
I often hear the excuse “I’m too busy. I’ll volunteer after the (kids grow up/ I retire/etc.)”
Volunteers ARE busy people - the busiest people I know. They have families, jobs, and they help on volunteer committees as well. You never know how much you can do until you try. And sometimes you will never know the impact you will have on someone else’s life, ever.
But that won’t stop the self-satisfied feeling you get from volunteering that you have made a positive difference, and have earned the respect of at least your fellow volunteers.
Wendy Coomber is editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal