Erma Bombeck, now deceased but one of my favorite writers and humorists, believed that being a volunteer is a noble profession. She said, "I was a 'thousand points of light' long before volunteerism lighted up the sky and had an official name. I had my lights short-circuited, burned at both ends and occasionally punched out. I hang in there because generally volunteerism is a dazzling galaxy of gems that streak across the sky and illuminate the world when it falters and cannot find its way."
Recently, the U.N. General Assembly commemorated the end of the International Year of Volunteers 2001. Secretary-General Kofi Annan remarked, "Volunteers are a shining example of the brave and caring face of our humanity." He said, "Immediately after the terrible attacks against the United States [on September 11th], people from all walks of life and all strata of society rolled up their sleeves and volunteered to help in any way they could. At the same time, we know that far away from the media spotlight, around the clock and around the world, thousands of volunteers contribute in thousands of ways."
Some of these thousands out of the media spotlight volunteers mentioned by the Secretary-General support the MEMBG in a myriad of ways. And we can't function without them.
The phenomenon of volunteerism has always interested me, both as a volunteer myself and in my capacity as MEMBG volunteer docent coordinator. I was motivated at an early age by models from my family and friends. As an adult I have been exposed to teachings from various traditions: (a) to carry out actions devoted to repair of the world, (b) to perform good deeds for the sake of performing good deeds without attachment to the results, and (c) to dedicate one's life to helping all conscious beings. These are profound and challenging, yet achievable, undertakings.
To learn more about volunteerism, I accessed a tiny representation of the volunteer postings on the Internet and found an amazing wealth of information, inspirational sayings, statistics, opportunities, and program management suggestions. See a brief sampling below from the Independent Sector site (http://www.independentsector.org/).
As evidenced by current events, we undeniably live in a frightening world. But we also live in a world where the lives of individuals and communities are improved by the positive impact of charitable actions and donations of money, goods-in-kind, or personal time and energy. As the Japanese representative to the U.N. said, "it is of critical importance to maintain (and surpass) the momentum that was built up during the International Year of the Volunteers 2001."
It is also of critical importance to acknowledge those who do help out and make a difference. Director Gibson and I would like to publicly thank the garden's docents and volunteer gardeners and share how immensely proud and appreciative we are of the time, ideas, energy, generosity, and dedication they put into caring for the garden, leading tours, assiting in the coordination of both programs, and attending regular meetings and training sessions.
So, to paraphrase a popular ad campaign, "JUST DO IT...GET OUT AND DO GOOD"!
CAROL FELIXSON, Docent and Communications Coordinator