Doing some good

Growing up, I never did much volunteering or donating. There are two times that I remember volunteering - 1) when I was about 16 or so I got in trouble and my parents made my volunteer at a nursing home - I played chess with an old man, it was actually a lot of fun and 2) when I was a senior, I was in National Honor Society and community service was a requirement so I volunteered the public library - I did painting, cleaned out a garage, etc.

I guess you get to a certain point in your life when you realize just how lucky you are and you feel the need to give back. This year was the first year that I've ever taken some initiative to volunteer/donate/fund raise for different organizations and charities. Below is what I did this year.

3/2 - Open Door Mission Breakfast (5:30am - 8:00am)

3/9 - Open Door Mission Breakfast (5:30am - 8:00am)

3/24 - Open Door Mission Breakfast (5:30am - 8:00am)

3/31 - Open Door Mission Breakfast (5:30am - 8:00am)

5/15 - Computers 4 Africa (9:00am - 12:00pm)

6/26 - Cornhusker State Games Powerlifting (10am - 2pm)

11/10 - charity: water (Raised $168)

12/4 - Rang Salvation Army Bell @ Gordmans (2pm - 5pm)

12/18 - Was supposed to ring the bell, but my kettle never showed up.

Taking apart a computer at Computers 4 Africa

Spotting at the Cornhusker State Games powerlifting meet

Ringing the Salvation Army bell at Gordmans





Volunteering feels good - but sometimes you still don't feel like you're doing anything. I can remember when I was volunteering at the Open Door Mission thinking, "if I don't volunteer - these guys will still get their breakfast". I still feel that way.

I'd like to focus on helping certain individuals or families that may really need it. The issue with that, though, is that it seems most of these individuals need your money and not necessarily your time. I'm still thinking through how I might approach this topic of my life for next year.