Hearts Wide Open

This new year, our Nation’s voice has renewed her call to volunteerism, heightened by the growing needs of so many people in the current “economic downturn” . Our new President, Barack Obama, invited all who could to honor Martin Luther King Day as a National Day of Service. The phones here at St. Anthony Foundation rang off the hook!

As individual volunteer coordinator here at St. Anthony Foundation, I answer our Holiday Phone Line–a special number dedicated to Holiday volunteering interest during the Season. This past year, I heard something much more frequently than in previous years: “I’ve been laid off, and want to volunteer while I’m looking for work…” Even after the Holidays, that statement continued to be repeated on the year round volunteering voicemail. And I’m still hearing it. In addition to this “voice of the times”, we’ve been contacted of late by wonderful organizations who “want to do something” to address the current climate of hardship by inviting St. Anthony’s to participate in customized volunteer fairs. We’ve been happy to attend and blessed to meet the many people “who want to do something” to make a difference for the better.

A “light bulb” went on for me at one of these recent events, during a conversation with a radio journalist who was asking me about volunteer demographics and St. Anthony Foundation needs. There seems to be a notion gaining ground that Volunteerism is an answer to the economic casualties of the “Great Recession”. You’d assume that a volunteer coordinator would be all about that, yes? Not quite, and thanks really to the strong Justice Education framework that girds our volunteer programming here at St. Anthony’s–both for groups and individuals– I’ve been mentored in the model that views service from the zoom-in personal to the wide big picture. Our volunteers do have eyes AND hearts “wide open”! Volunteering to serve a tray of a hot, nutritious, and tasty meal to each person waiting in line and at last sitting down in our Dining Room invites a birds eye view of every person served as well as a recognition of just how long that line is, and what that says about our devastated “safety net”.

“Safety net” is the phrase long used in our society to describe the array of human social services available to those in need. We’ve seen many of those services go from belt-tightening to being culled out altogether for years now. And this year’s State budget crisis threatens the most severe cuts yet! Affordable housing, jobs, physical and mental health care services, education, nutrition…These are among the links of the safety net that have been slashed so severely. Volunteering to address the needs of the growing numbers of folks falling through the CANYONS, never mind “cracks” is crucial, but it’s a caring response to the crises. Restoring & strengthening the net of services is the real answer to reducing the numbers of those in great need and to turning toward, as our Mission Statement calls for–“a society where all persons can flourish”.

Isn’t it a very good time to voice a vision of volunteering that values personal service, but sees clearly the critical need for a National landscape of supportive services? One without the other is perhaps like the story of “Blind Men and the Elephant”, who each think their immediate experience of the elephant’s body reveals the whole picture. On the other hand, I love to see our volunteers’ hearts so “wide open” as they behold our guests, and the entire St. Anthony Community with a vision that doesn’t ebb when they “finish their shift”, but continues to see & sense the web that connects us all. “Volunteering at St. Anthony Foundation has changed my life!” We hear this beautiful refrain again and again, and even from the one-time only volunteers–“I’ll never look at homeless people the same way again…I was afraid or judgemental before I came here”. All of us here in JEVA (Justice Education Volunteer-Intern & Advocacy) take turns hosting the groups that volunteer for the day. When I’m hosting, I often mentioned that “homelessness” wasn’t even in our vocabulary when I moved here in the mid 70’s. A colleague told me not long ago, that on a recent trip to Japan, he learned that the Japanese are using the English word, “homeless” to describe now, those Japanese who now live on the streets. There’s no word for it in Japanese. Even nomadic tribes pitch camp. It’s the conditions that contribute to impoverishment and homeless that are alarming. As our volunteers and staff know, most of those suffering from these conditions are among the kindest, most upbeat, appreciative, and mutually helpful human beings we meet. I look forward to taking a deeper look into this “reveal” in a future blog entry.

I found a Chinese proverb recently that I’ll close with: “Planning for a year–plant corn”; planning for a decade–plant trees; planning for (a) life–educate. . .people.” Volunteering–absolutely! And profound gratitude to all who do. Cultivating that understanding to restore a just society–real solutions, and healing commonwealth! Every now and then, one of those dear folks who came to volunteer when they were out of work will contact me with the wonderful news that they’ve found a new job. I look forward to hearing that more often! And to hearing the words that usually companion this good news: “I’ll need to change my schedule, but I sure hope to keep volunteering when I can.” My heart widens just thinkin’ about it!