I spent yesterday at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica at a luncheon for The Halo Awards: a project from the Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation that recognizes outstanding volunteers and the nonprofits they serve. I'm proud to say that a stellar volunteer from the nonprofit I run was selected as one of six awardees.
Hearing from each of the volunteers was incredibly moving. None knew that they had been nominated by the nonprofits they serve, until being notified of the award in December. And all expressed a similar outlook around their volunteer work that went something like this: I saw a small way that I could help, so I helped. Hearing about what each volunteer had accomplished was incredibly inspiring, and made me want to spend more time (not just money) helping others. As I listened, I realized that none of the volunteers did anything super-human. The work they did was humble - grant writing, running Wii bowling at a senior center, recycling clay for art classes - but the end results were so meaningful to the people around them. Simple acts of kindness had grown into so much more...
One volunteer, in her acceptance speech, summed up her work and motivation with this wonderful quote from Desmond Tutu.
Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Words to live by.
- Selfish Blogger
