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There Is No Better Time Than Right Now – Community Spotlight

What Is YOUR passion?
Do you love animals? Want to help people less fortunate? Perhaps encourage kids as they learn to read? Or are you excited about repurposing items instead of filling our landfills? Is it cleaning up your community, advocating for those who can’t speak for themselves, feeding the hungry, mentoring youth, showing hospitality… so many prospects, too numerous to mention.

Community Volunteers and Winterset residents joined together for the first trail cleanup of the year. The area covered the St. Mary’s Pathway from Airport Expressway to Tillman Park. (l-r) From back row: Grant Acker, James Conner, Kelley Renz, Tom Renz, Erin Floyd, Kathy Freiburger, Bob Floyd, Jenna Estep, Karen Estep, Steve Binkley. Kneeling: Robert Jones. Photo by: Camille Garrison

The month of April celebrated National Volunteer Month. Did you know that the national average value of a volunteer translates to $28.54 per hour according to an Independent Sector Study? Ask most volunteers and they will tell you they don’t want anything for their efforts. They volunteer because they make a DIFFERENCE. And it makes them feel good.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s made us realize that we can’t waste time on doing things we are not drawn to. And it’s time to come back from the sweat pants, comfy couch and isolation. Volunteering is a great way to bridge that gap.

Some fast facts about volunteering:

  1. According to an AmeriCorps report, people who volunteer over 100 hours a year are some of the healthiest people in the U.S.
  2. Volunteering decreases the likelihood of high blood pressure development by 40%.
  3. 96% of volunteers reported the action enriched their sense of PURPOSE in life.
  4. One out of four American’s volunteer, two out of three Americans help their neighbor according to a study performed by The Corporation for National & Community Service.

Our Waynedale Community is in true need of volunteers. Do you miss the events we enjoyed prior to the pandemic? Fun activities such as the Easter Egg hunt, Walk in Waynedale, and Christmas festivities. In order to potentially renew similar endeavors and to create new ones, commitment is required from people willing to make things happen. Are you one of those people eager to make a difference in our community? Are you willing to commit to helping a Waynedale event come to fruition? Are you interested in learning more? If so, please reach out to me at garrisoncamille704@gmail.com. We will be hosting an organizational meeting soon so don’t dawdle. We need YOU.

In the meantime, visit www.volunteerfortwayne.org and click on “I Want to Volunteer.” Complete a brief profile, attend a short introduction and access hundreds of volunteer opportunities from five counties. It’s a good beginning to making a positive change in your life.

Take the leap and explore how to fuel YOUR passion.

Camille Garrison

Camille Garrison

Camille is a community leader, event organizer, trails supporter and more! After working near Waynedale for just over a year, she knew she wanted to call it home. She loves the friendliness and closeness of the community and have grown to be very passionate about seeing Waynedale prosper. > Read Full Biography > More Articles Written By This Writer