Be Your Best

Todd Gifford, on Right, Helping to Clean up the Maquoketa River

Recently, I had the opportunity to do something I had never done before, or anything remotely like it.  It was tremendously uplifting for me and a great learning experience, but best of all, helped a county and community in Iowa that needed help.  It was a great reminder for me of one of the most important opportunities in life that brings me tremendous satisfaction, pride, and sense of accomplishment, but yet at the same time provides so much value to others.  And it is free (ok, pretty darn close to being free).

I volunteered my time to help with a River Cleanup project to remove large debris from the Maquoketa River in Delaware County Iowa that was a result from extreme flooding in July of 2010.  15 inches of rain within much of the watershed had taken the river level and downstream dammed up lake up 15+ feet in the course of 24-36 hours.  The 40 foot high dam gave way and breached on July 24, 2010.  Many homes and property were heavily damaged and a massive amount of debris littered the resulting river bed.  Parts of damaged homes, decks, complete docks, boat lifts, and other large debris became partially sunken and littered the water over a 9 mile stretch of river.

Because there is very little money in the IDNR (Iowa Dept of Natural Resources), County, and State budgets these days, public areas like this would simply not get cleaned up without a significant volunteer effort.  Here was an opportunity to help clean up the river by removing large debris to make the water space usable again for the public good.

“The most precious things in life are free” is the famous saying.  Ironically, the cost of volunteering is actually very ‘expensive’ and costs the most precious thing you have next to your health — your time. Giving your personal time towards an effort or cause or to people who need it may be the most important gift you can give to anyone.  But unlike simply writing a check and donating money to a cause, what you get back in return from volunteering your time and effort is simply amazing and unquantifiable.

Whether you volunteer coach a sports team, donate your time to a school, volunteer for a board or committee position for a non-profit, help out at a local shelter or elderly home or care center, or volunteer your time to any effort that helps others, you are providing one of the ultimate gifts that can be given to other people.

The Thing I Always Forget About

Like many of you, although I have volunteered my time coaching various sports as well as at kid’s camps over the years, and volunteered time for non-profit organizations on a number of occasions; I still seem to forget how big of a deal this is — but not just for the people who are helped.  I have always done these things because it was the right thing to do and the opportunities presented themselves.  But what I tend to forget about these unique opportunities is how they positively impact me.  This is not the reason I volunteer my time…or is it?  Looking back, I have always felt that I walked away from the volunteer activity getting more out of it than the people or community I was trying to help.  I have always had a sense of exhilaration and accomplishment not quite like anything else during and after every volunteer activity.  Is this because I am a terrible volunteer (hopefully not) or is it because volunteering is one of those very special and unique opportunities where you get an incredible feeling of satisfaction and pride while helping other people at the same time — in exchange for just some of your time?

The fact is that volunteering is one of life’s most rewarding uses of your time.  This, in large part, may be fundamentally due to the definition of a volunteer: a person who freely offers to take part…

The act of freely offering your time, unconditionally, not asked or required to do it, may be the key ingredient that produces this tremendous exhilaration.  It’s an amazing thing.  Add some excitement and satisfaction to your life while helping others by volunteering more for whatever you are passionate about.  The return on investment is incredible.

Be Your Best,
Todd D. Gifford