Volunteer Time
My Volunteer Experience
By Terry A.
Volunteers Kathy & Teri
A teen boy walked into the Martinez office to see a room full of toys, shoes, clothes, school supplies, and pillow pals. He was amazed that we had shoes size 16 for him. His foster parents had called in advance to see if that was a possibility. He stated a few times how happy he was and how he couldn’t wait to go to school the next day. He was about to leave and a volunteer said did you pick out your games or pillows. He stated I already was given some shoes. The volunteer informed him that he can go to every station and take something he wanted. His smile spoke volumes to all the volunteers in the room. There was not a dry eye in the room.
Loading the trucks and cars with toys, pllow pals, and coats we headed to Alameda to take a short bay cruise with 50 Foster children and their families. Santa was to be on board and the day was to filled with surprises and fun games. From the time the children arrived they was treated like the special children they are and their foster families were shown how much we are appreciative of the work they do. The group picture at the end of the day is a memory I will never forget –The community working together does change the lives of foster children.
These experiences helped me grow as a person and I wanted to do more. How can I make a difference? I am only one person. I soon found out that I could come to the office and make calls, work on a data base or become certified so I could then interact with the Foster Youth one on one. Sometimes I just talk with one individual and other times there are 100 youth to lead in a game or to prepare prize bags for them at an event. There are many jobs that I didn’t think I could do but the more I am around these amazing children the more I grow and understand what this life is all about.
