There are many ways to volunteer within Sun City and the larger surrounding communities. Each of has different capacities to volunteer. We may be blessed with talents and skills we wish to share. We may be trying to step out of our comfort zone and create new borders for ourselves. We may have limitations like finances, health, transportation and such that hold us back from what we hope to offer others but we continue to do what we able to. Giving of ourselves with time, talent or money is a gift we give each other. We have arrived in our later lives not used up and defeated but with optimism and appreciation of things outside of self. Please share how you volunteer so we can celebrate it with you. And, thank you for giving back!
I will start. I volunteer as a Phase Coordinator for Prides. I offer my craft club a minimum of four hours per week helping others in the club. I give my time to Sun City Advocates. I am a third generation Sun Citian and remember my Grandfather assisting residents at Sun City Lodge with legal and accounting issues. My Mom volunteered as a PRIDE member. I guessed it's baked in.
Exceptional Cheri; i had no idea you did the PRIDES. Awesome group with their roots dating back to 1980 and in 1982 became a recognized non-profit organization. For those who don't know, their acronym stands for Proud Residents Independently Donating Essential Services. Every time we take visitors through our community we invariably here, "it's so clean here." There's a reason for that and it starts with the PRIDES. One other comment C; Boswell Hospital opened in early 1970 and within about a year they had a 1000 volunteers. Recently i read a post they were looking for volunteers again. The pandemic hit them hard and volunteers dropped way off. One of the couples we worked with on the 50th anniversary committee, Skip and Debbie Young, were both really involved with them. We lost Skip suddenly a month or two back, truly just a nice man.
Thanks Bill. This is what I want celebrate volunteerism. Boswell has many, many awesome volunteers. I think Sun City needs a big calculator (you know like the Red Cross fundraising thermometer?) for all the volunteer hours given. Wouldn't that be cool? Constantly ticking upward? There's an open opportunity for every volunteer.
Just so you know Cheri, Paul Herrmann used to have a projected hours volunteered sign at the Visitor Center that showed both estimated hours given and the total dollar savings from those hours. Both hours and dollars was staggering. Sadly, it went away. Restoring that sense of volunteerism is critical to restoring the sense of community.
I am so not surprised that it is not an original idea. But without celebration our mission is easily lost. Oh wait, I guess that is where we are at.
I so agree. I’ll post my my thoughts tomorrow. I’ll be asking for suggestion and know you need to be lead because thankfully you get it!
