Time is money, so if you’re strapped for cash during the season of giving, why not donate your time?
Retired educator Jennie Guenthner can’t do strenuous physical work, so she spends her mornings and nights helping the Wisconsin Humane Society from home, posting available foster pets online and processing paperwork. Barbara Holt, a longtime volunteer at Hunger Task Force, puts together food boxes and distributes vouchers for local farmers markets. And former MPS teacher Sue Michalos spreads her time across multiple groups, teaching craft classes at Arts @ Large and running the cash register at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
One thing they all agree on: volunteering is a social responsibility, and it just feels good. Michalos says: “You get so much more back than you give.”
MilMag asked these volunteers more about what they do and why they do it:
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
What made you want to start volunteering?
Jennie Guenthner: I was in education for over 30 years. So, I’m used to being in a profession that gives back. Once I retired, I decided to go with the Humane Society. I have animals, so I wanted to do something that wasn’t necessarily hands on with animals. I offered to do more behind-the-scenes things.
Barbara Holt: My dad was a letter carrier, and so Stamp Out Hunger was a very important project for me to be involved with. And that’s really what led me in through the door into Hunger Task Force itself, because of the commitment to the staff, even back then. I probably have been volunteering since the late ’80s.
Sue Michalos: I first connected with Arts @ Large when I was teaching in MPS. At the time, Teri (Sullivan), who was one of the founders, and her son, Sean, came and did some programming with our students. So, when I retired six years ago, I had that relationship with them. … I saw what difference they made to the students when they were sending in students from MSOE and other places that got kids involved in art, and it made a difference. Although I stepped back from teaching, I still enjoy making a difference.
What does your volunteering look like?
JG: Mondays, I monitor a spreadsheet where the foster parents, if they have medical concerns, they will enter it through. But it’s probably a total of two hours or three hours’ worth of work in that whole eight hours. And then Tuesdays, I go in for three hours. That’s where I do the (animal) surrender. And then every other Wednesday is the vaccine clinic, so I go in for three hours. And then on Fridays, I have that same eight-hour shift again. And some of the other stuff is at home, and I can do that at night.
BH: Hunger Task Force sort of uses me where they need me, but I generally will help with, let’s say, the mailings that they have. And when one of the staff is a little bit overworked, I help her with a project that she is responsible for. I’ve had all sorts of things tossed my way.
SM: I started helping get teacher packets ready. When they got donations in, (I’ve sorted) through them with arts and crafts and things like that. I’ve taught (classes).
What’s a favorite memory you have from volunteering?
JG: I’d say the people I work with. Someone is always doing two or three different jobs or parts of jobs, so it just makes me feel good that I can help them to get their job done. … I’ve yet to meet anyone who wasn’t a pleasure to work with.
BH: I have to admit one of my wonderful memories is getting a hug from Donald Driver because of Sargento’s Touchdowns for Hunger. … But honestly, I enjoy coming here. It is never, “Oh, darn, I have to go work at Hunger Task Force.” Because it’s never work for me. The people are so appreciative of anything that a person does, and they let you know that what you’re doing is valuable, no matter how small it may seem.
SM: The wreath decorating that we did a few years ago. Arts supplied the wreaths and all the decorations. A whole bunch of people came, and we had the easel set up and the different items they could take. At that time, we were getting a lot of donations from JoAnn Fabric – I mean boxes and boxes of ornaments and ribbons and all sorts of stuff, and just watching these people create these beautiful wreaths that they were allowed to take home.
Why do you do it?
JG: It just makes me feel good that I’m doing something for others. There’s something for everyone … You don’t have to interact with the animals in order to help and do your part. It’s just a nice way to give. And the more volunteers they have, the less stress it is on the people who work there.
BH: I think that the person donating gets just as much, if not more, out of it than the one in the organization that they’re working for. It really is a gift to be able to give your time.
SM: Someone told me that it’s a good day if the places I’ve been today are better because I was there, whether it’s going from my morning walk and picking up trash on my walk – OK, I figure the street looks better today because I did that. It’s making a difference. That’s why I went into teaching. I thought, if I can be the person that gives that kid that needed hug or that needed encouragement, then that’s what drives me.
Correction: The story has been updated to correct the name of Sargento’s Touchdowns for Hunger.
