How does a place where giving from the community and to the community is the norm year-round change during the season of giving?
By celebrating the incredible generosity of a community of volunteers and donors who, combined with staff, keep ShareNet running.
By focusing on the part of our community which needs our help with an incredible Thanksgiving distribution which provides as many of the ingredients for a special meal (and leftovers) as we can provide.
By being out-of-your-head busy for the whole last quarter of the year.
For those who haven’t seen it in action, our Thanksgiving distribution is a blowout event which takes months of planning to pull off and leaves everyone drained but enthusiastic about what we’ve accomplished. Signups were taken from mid-October through Nov. 15. The distribution date is Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As always, we will make every attempt to serve latecomers too. We’ll serve until it’s all gone, and then we’ll turn around and restock the shelves and start all over.
Volunteerism is the lifeblood of ShareNet, as it is for most nonprofits. Every day, volunteers across a very wide age spectrum arrive at ShareNet from the midst of their own busy lives, on time and ready to do a job, because what we’ve got here is a lot of work to do. We get to see firsthand every day how volunteering enriches the lives of those we serve, as well as the lives of volunteers.
As volunteer management has become a degree program at many universities and a very published, studied and researched topic, you would think it would be closer than ever to an exact science, but volunteering varies a lot with geography (urban, suburban, rural), with type of service, and among age groups. Youth volunteers are going to have a whole different set of needs and parameters than elderly volunteers, for example.
At ShareNet, more women volunteer than men, though the number of guys has made huge gains in the last couple of years. One indisputable fact is that 80 percent of ShareNet’s volunteer staff is older than 55, and many of these are older than 65. ShareNet runs on “gray power.”
Volunteering later in life is essential for continuing positive human development and as an activity which mitigates isolation and loneliness. Research has shown causal link between volunteering and better health, particularly among the elderly. It can be a key mechanism for meeting new people and creating or extending connections in the community.
Moreover, volunteering provides a broader network and more diverse interactions than most people experience even when they are already active. All walks of life meet up at ShareNet, and that creates an essential community crossroads. Volunteering provides an opportunity for physical activities, and the experience of a productive role, a sense some seniors lose upon retirement.
Volunteer Rex Gallaher, 72, says, “In my 50 years in the working world, I began to appreciate seeing joy in people faces. This came from the working interpersonal relationships and visible contributions to an end product. I became a public speaker on the design of the workplace and the work itself, hoping that companies would realize the same employee satisfaction at work as I had.”
He added, “Why do I volunteer? Because true joy comes from helping others. At ShareNet we work as a team, built on relationships and a common goal: to assist the clients. I can see the appreciation in the faces of those walking out with their groceries and hygiene items, with a sigh of relief for one more day with food on the table. I also watch the faces of the volunteers reflecting an inner joy at having helped a family through another crisis.
“While I do not personally see those who have been helped with rent, utility or doctor bills, I can imagine their pain and their relief.
“For me, it is my privilege and a humbling experience to work with volunteers with a like motivation and resultant joy in serving others.”
During a season when gratitude should be the emphasis, ShareNet has a lot to be thankful for.
— Mark Ince is executive director of ShareNet.
