Our group of 20 Live The Good volunteers arrived at the Healing Center in Springdale on a cold and windy January morning. Affiliated with Vineyard Church, the Healing Center provides services to help people meet their practical, social, emotional, spiritual, and financial needs. Following opening prayer, we quickly got to work in the warehouse. Some volunteers sorted clothes and stocked shelves while others checked expiration dates on donated food items.
Adjacent to the warehouse, people steadily flowed through the front doors. Some came to shop in the free food marketplace or clothes boutique. Others came for classes or the free health clinic. More people arrived seeking assistance with preparing their taxes.
There was a lot of work to do in the warehouse, and our volunteers always work hard. They don’t waste time. They are much like the Sisters who go where they are needed, roll up their sleeves, and get to work.
I often stop to check on people, answer questions, or ask if they need anything. I generally try to keep tabs on everyone and make sure all is well.
This morning was no different. I scanned the warehouse and that’s when I noticed it. We were down one volunteer. Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. This was probably not a bathroom break.
Who was this mystery missing volunteer, and where did he or she go? And why? Did he or she get bored and leave? Unlikely. Opening prayer? Most definitely not. Something I said? Yikes. I sure hoped not!
Mystery solved. It was Brian, a volunteer who always goes where he is needed and the extra mile. He discovered there was a shortage of volunteers to assist people with their taxes. As a CPA, it was a no brainer for him.
He went where he was most needed.
Be well. Do good.
P.S. Brian is not in this photo. You can probably guess why.
Holly Schlaack
Director of Volunteer Engagement