Friday, October 29, 2010

Where would we be without you?

Once again we have the happy task of reporting on some pretty great people who spent their free time here at DXC helping us help others. This time, the good news is doubled, though, since we had two groups in over two consecutive days.

Last Friday (October 22), we had three wonderful ladies from GE Capital come in to spend time with our students during the United Way’s Stay and Play Day. Diana Ayala-Thornhill, Stephanie Henderson, and Deannia Northcutt came in on their own time to spend a morning in our classrooms. The played with the students, helped the teachers and took part if crafts and games, all to the excitement of the kids and staff, alike.

The Stay and Play Day is a project of the Join Hands Miami Valley program at United Way. Volunteers come into child care sites, such as DXC, and take part in the classroom activities.



(For more information on the Join Hands Miami Valley program, go to http://www.liveuniteddayton.org/difference_day.php -- it’s a great way to get involved!)

The next day, eight students from the University of Dayton’s Center for Social Concern gave up their Saturday to come here and get dirty. These young people were among the hardest working and most cheerful volunteers we have had and pitched right in with even the toughest job. They sorted and put away donations, organized the Christmas, Supply, and Resource rooms, cleared everything out of the storage shed and put it back so we can actually move around in there now, gave the front doors a new coat of paint, along with repainting a wall in the Sesame Street Room, and even wiped down Mr. Thompson’s classroom chairs and tables. Dan Juozitis, Anna Kornowski, Kathe Saffire, Kelly Hanlon, Kathie Ma, Tom Marx, Brendan Lacey, and Michael McNamara prove that young people today are, indeed, involved and anxious to put their efforts to work making a better world.

In these times of hard economy, volunteering is more difficult for people who want to give their time to worthy causes. Many people have had to take second, and even third, jobs. Even those who have one job are working harder and are trying to stretch their paychecks farther than every before. That makes it harder to find time – and money – to drive back and forth to a site, and to find the energy to put into a volunteer activity.

At the same time, and for the same reason, having volunteers is not just important for non-profit organizations, it’s crucial. There’s not so much money available for NPOs now, no matter what the source, and things that normally might have had purchased services now rely on dedicated volunteers for completion. Things like janitorial jobs, filing, ground keeping, and a whole lot more, don’t stop needing attention because of a recession.

That’s why, when we have caring, concerned people who take time out of their weeks and spend their leisure time helping us out, we really want to make sure they know how much we appreciate it.

Saying “Thanks” is a simple thing to do, but meaning it – really meaning it – can make it more valuable. We wish we could give every one of our volunteers and donors wonderful gifts, but, in lieu of that, we want you all to know we are very grateful for everything you do.

And, yes, we really mean it.

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