Good Deed of the Week

My first day on the job, our HR director let us know that she needed volunteers for a Habitat for Humanity build. As I'm new around here, and didn't see anything pressing on my agenda, I said I'd be happy to. From what I've heard about it, painting was going to be about as "manual labor" as I would have to get.

My assistant picked me up, and I navigated. Apparently it was in a part of town she'd never been (AKA: not the best part). We arrived on time, she introduced me to some people, we got our shirts and then we gathered. The area General Managers spoke and then we were given our tasks. Mine was not painting. Ugh. You mean I was going to have to pick up a shovel?!?

And so it was. We had to shovel out 6" deep for an 8' wide driveway, all the way to the sidewalk. Thankfully there was a sidewalk already there, so we didn't have to dig that too. We had to cut boards for stakes to mark where we were shoveling. We had to make the ground higher near the house and slope it down towards the sidewalk. Something about rain and drainage around here?? I have never seen my hands in worse shape than they were over the weekend. They still haven't completely healed.

Overall it was a great experience. I met a lot of people that work for various hotels and expanded my network just a little bit. I did something good for someone less fortunate than me for no reason at all. However, I will limit my volunteering in the future to the events where I get to see the appreciation on the recipients face. I know that volunteering is supposed to be done completely selflessly and all that, but the truth of the matter is that I get out of it just as much as the recipient does. But I want to see them appreciate it. It may sound selfish, but it's that gratefulness and appreciation that drives me and makes me want to do more. Do it more often, do it for longer, recruit others to the cause, whatever that cause may be. I don't donate money to non-profits, but will round up the best silent auction donation items you'll ever see (and likely even bid on them!). I'm happy to put a contact from a worthy cause in touch with a decision maker. This H4H build though....first and last. I'll be supportive and whatever, but I'd love to see what that house (or any other H4H builds) looks like a year or two or ten after we've put our time and sweat equity into it.

I know that last sentence sounds extremely cynical, and not in the same vein as the rest of the post. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the majority of recipients of H4H homes appreciate them and take care of them until they get back on their feet. As such, I'll stick to the group I love working with the most: Special Olympics. I'd give up any day/night of my life to help this organization.