Blown away - Literally then figuratively!
This past week I had the pleasure of working with two volunteer groups. One came from Father Gabriel Richard High School as part of a service learning day. Twenty-five students, parents, and
teachers turned out on a bright, achingly crisp cold Thursday morning to volunteer at our Arbordale property. Bundled against the wind, they pulled annuals from the summer, spread compost on the flowerbeds (helping Avalon continue moving toward organic methods and techniques), raked leaves, and generally tidied. As they munched cookies, drank their cocoa and cider, their red cheeks testified to the good work of the past two hours. (Arbordale is one of our larger properties, and it takes a LARGE and dedicated group to make an impact like this one did.) As they snow and freezing rain fell over the weekend, I knew the time spent in the cold was worth it.
Then on Saturday morning I found myself getting ready for a group of volunteers to join me to take care of our holiday mailing. The smell of brewing coffee greeted the first few as they came through the door, and we sat down to work. Then eight more arrived from the Plymouth Family YMCA Youth Volunteer Corp to lend a hand. (They were more about the cookies and cider, of course!) And finally, much to my surprise, at least eight more volunteers came through the door from Eastern Michigan University’s service fraternity!
I swear this group was the largest I’d ever seen for a mailing. I was so touched and so thrilled that I made them all take a group photo in front of the Carrot Way mosaic to mark this occasion. And even though they’ve all heard me say it so many times before, it’s still true: We couldn’t do our work without them. Our volunteers and friends make supportive housing a reality in our community.