Today was a satisfying day. I was a little slow and tired. Still fighting a weird not-fever, where my temp just flirts with 100 degrees all day and I can feel the chills in my body and the heaviness of my head.
But I popped two Tylenol at 945am and went on my way.
S was volunteering at the YMCA in Santa Anita and invited me along. It was so fascinating to see such a big program running through the YMCA. The two females running it were just out of college and hired on through AmeriCorp.
Yes, I totally just browsed through all their offerings. Fascinating.
The two females were running through CERC which has host sites through the Cal State University system and they had just graduated from Dominguez Hills. It was really cool actually.
The YMCA turned one of their rooms into a completely filled store of food, toiletries, clothes, diapers, dog and cat food, toys, books, really anything you could imagine.
On one hand, I was so impressed at everything that was donated.
On the other, it was sad to see all the donations (fancy dresses, heeled boots, random science projects) that were never going to be used or taken. The amount of toiletry bags that were made was incredible and makes me wonder who actually uses them. One couple came in and they were offered a bag and they took a few things out of it and declined the rest. So I took the rest of the things and found homes for them in the supply boxes.
Those toiletry bags were put together with such lovely thoughts and care. The small samples of face wash, lip scrub, and eye masks were SO nice. It made me sigh a little to put them into the piles because who was going to use them?
The sheer amount of “stuff” there was incredible and there were maybe… 10 groups of people who came in from 11-2pm and they didn’t take a whole lot of items. Where was all that “stuff” going to go, after the YMCA/CERC closed down the support in a week?
But… going back to the first hand… It was so impressive. The amount of donations that people took the time to either find in their house, make with their families, or larger stores were donating all new things (clothes, sunglasses, etc). It was remarkable to see the community support. There must have been 15 of the same sweaters from a name brand – although the sizes were all mostly S or XS… not sure if it was their high stock or had already been picked over.
Despite my criticizing, what was so heartwarming was the sense of comfort the visiting families felt. Most had lost their homes and were facing huge challenges. The ability to walk into this room and get a little something new back into their lives seemed to give them hope. Moreso, the ability to be able to tell their story and connect with all the volunteers in the room made them feel heard.
I loved listening to their stories!
Richard and Denise were celebrating their 27th anniversary that day. They were trying to put a positive spin on it and kept saying, “We get to start over and we still have each other.” They were so sweet and I was honored to help them find shoes, backpacks, and a few other things for their house. I heard all about what their house was, where they were living now, and little details about their life. They had kids but were tired of sleeping on their couch and having no room. They had moved into a one-bedroom studio apartment and were paying just as much as rent for it as they were for their previous mortgage which was a three-bedroom house with a pool. They spent over an hour there, looking for various things and talking with all the volunteers. Richard came in to show us two small things rescued from the fire. The tears shining in their eyes as they talked about some of these details was so sad but they were so eager to tell their story.
Kim and Keith came in briefly and were looking for pants and shoes. They had their beloved dog, Moose, with them in the car. Moose was a magnificent 100-pound brown Labrador, brimming with sweetness. We quickly fetched some treats to welcome him. Moose came out of the car and shook hands and was very kind to the people coming up to pet him. I helped Keith bring waters to his car, and gave a hand to Kim with her bags.
Another woman came in for her friend who had three dogs. She needed dog bowls, toys, and some treats. She spoke Spanish as a first language and spoke English incredibly well. (I’m always so fascinated and impressed at people who speak multiple languages!) She was telling me how another family was split up, where the son was staying in a hotel but the Mom and daughter were staying across town with friends. She ended up grabbing him some power bars and macaroni and cheese for the hotel room.
It was gratifying to spend this time today. As in all volunteering, a lot of it was standing around waiting to be told what to do. In some cases, it’s good to FIND things to do but as I was standing in the clothes section, other volunteers randomly deciding to reorganize the clothes for no good reason was driving me crazy so I had to step away. It was satisfying to help lift waters and move them around, to check expiration dates on food donated, or to organize boxes in a hallway. Even if I organized those boxes three times.
And hanging out with the other volunteers was just as rewarding. Most of them having been affected by the fires in some way and wanting to help. Chris with his upbeat personality, Chrystal who was brimming with excitement to be there and had all sorts of funny comments to give, and Ling with her amazing fanny pack that she brings with her to all her volunteering events. (I had to quiz her on where else she was working at!)
Last night, I got out a bunch of affirmation cards that I had in my drawer. I wanted to write a few phrases and put some money into them so I could give them to people if it felt right. I ended up throwing the cards in my purse but never had the time to stop by the ATM. Yet, on the way, I started looking in my purse and randomly found $450 tucked into one of my wallets. I think it was from France. Although, now that I think about that, I was getting euros in France so honestly… I have no idea – at the moment, hopefully it will come to me at some point – why I had that money tucked in there. I had not used that particular wallet in awhile. My actual wallet was in another compartment.
Finding that extra money felt like a lucky surprise. It was like the universe was saying, ‘Here, use this to help others.’ So I was able to write a few cards, tuck some $$ into them and pass them out to the families I connected with.
Even though there were some things that didn’t make sense, like all the stuff that wasn’t going to get used, it was still a good day. Seeing how strong people were after losing everything, and how much everyone wanted to help, really gave me hope.
It showed me how important it is for people to help each other. Even though there was a lot of stuff, and some of it might go to waste, the kindness and how people came together to help was the most important thing.
It was a day filled with meaning. I learned a lot, felt good about helping others, and enjoyed the peaceful feeling that came from spending time with a good friend and making a positive impact.
