A I read through the long list of volunteering accomplishments of Val Jensen this week, it inspired me to really reflect on how big an impact volunteerism plays in our communities.
Jensen was recognized by Lindsey Thurber Comprehensive High School earlier this week. She has helped organize so many events over the years, including her most recent endeavour – the Aloha School Run, a three-km run at 36 Red Deer Public and Catholic schools during Mental Health Week with almost 10,000 students participating.
It's people like this that really make our communities worth living in. And while some receive recognition on occasion, there is an endless list of those in Red Deer and Central Alberta who go above and beyond the call of duty to make the community a better place.
From small neighbourhood cleanups to large-scale fundraisers, volunteers take pride in bringing people together to accomplish a common goal. For a lot of people who volunteer, the time and the hours don't add up to anything tangible. There's no financial gain, there's just pride and a helpful spirit that feels good at the end of the day.
It's the notion that if you can leave things a little bit better than you found them, the world will be a better place.
That spirit to pitch in and help out can be infectious, as you often find the people who volunteer in their adult years are the ones that had parents who pitched in. Consciously or subconsciously, you get drawn to those pursuits.
I remember my parents always being the first ones to pitch in and help out while I was growing up playing sports. My dad loved sports, but didn't play growing up. That didn't stop him from helping coach, he was always there to lend his encouragement or support to my teammates and I growing up. He was our trainer for a lot of years in hockey, just because that's what the team needed.
My parents were both teachers and it was the same with school events. Whenever there was a function, they were the first to pitch in and lend a hand to whatever event was going on.
Even now, in their 70s, my mom volunteers to coach bridge at their local community centre and my dad is the sound and light guy. They do it, just because they like to help out when they can. It's a nearly unconscious pursuit at this point.
I've done some volunteer coaching at a local high school over the past few years, and for me, it's a cup filler. I love helping young athletes try and achieve their goals and seeing the joy on their faces when they do accomplish something special – there isn't much like it.
I haven't done much volunteering in my life beyond sports and when I hear what other community volunteers find time to do, it's inspiring and daunting all at the same time.
I think we could all do a little bit more to help our community. I know I sure could.
Instilling this passion in the next generation is most often an intended consequence of helping out, just like getting recognition for it. The more you can do for your community, maybe the more that light shines positively on someone else and encourages them to volunteer and help out.
You almost always see the joy that these life-long volunteers have. They have a spirit they carry that is and should be inspiring to others.
So help out when you can as the end of 2024 rounds to a close. Take note of how it makes you feel. You might be surprised.
Byron Hackett is the Managing Editor of the Red Deer Advocate and a Regional Editor for Black Press Media.