Volunteering is a gift, and I got one in return

Volunteering is an act of love. Every hour you give is a gift.

Part of the gift goes to the organization, to the task, or to the goal, but it ALWAYS a gift of love for yourself. Every time you work on your volunteer job, give yourself the time to enjoy the work, and to reach inside yourself to feel the love that made you want to volunteer.

When you choose a leadership job, your efforts are multiplied by the people you reach. If your job is to prepare kits that are made into final products by others, you’ve suddenly increased your impact. If you feel your work is not being used, don’t underestimate the quiet majority. They are the people who feel your impact in the privacy of their hearts. You reach people who may never be able to express their gratitude, but remember you’ve reached them nonetheless.

When you've had enough, regardless of how much you’ve volunteered, it's time to stop. When the time comes to stop a task, end it with full love, dignity and respect for yourself. Take some time to reflect on your work, on the people you have changed, and what you have personally gained. Then let it go and move on.  You will find that you heart will call you to volunteer again someday.

I love to volunteer, I love to have an impact on others, even when most of the work is done deep in the night in the privacy of my home. Volunteering at an intensive level during this past year has brought me out of my shell and given me courage to speak truth to power. Helping others has helped me more than you’ll ever know. I volunteer because I am selfish – what I get back outpaces what I give.

Quilting volunteer work is often misunderstood or goes unrecognized, but it’s still there. We aren’t just a bunch of women who sit around in groups to “Stitch and Bitch.” We change the world we live in. Recently our guild tallied up the efforts we made just in creating and delivering quilts to various groups, including Wounded Warriors and Fukushima. I estimate that we put in about 5000 volunteer hours a year just producing quilts to give away. That’s an enormous impact on our world. 

Today I received a great honor. Thanks to some lovely people in the guild, I was nominated for a volunteer award, and I received Volunteer of the Year, Local National. Thank you for your support, I am honored and just tickled pink.


There are 2 parts to the award: first the President's Gold Award for my volunteer hours, and second the Volunteer of the Year for a local national (being part of the German community makes me eligible for this award).
Here are some pictures.