Welcome, friends, family, and neighbors. As always, we’re glad to have you with us! This month, I thought I would write to you about a very important piece of our farm program, and a topic that I hold near and dear for many reasons. What could possibly be so important? The spirit of volunteerism, of course! The act of volunteering one’s time to help others is a true act of reciprocity, kindness, cooperation, and selflessness, characteristics that I often find elusive in the wider world.
Volunteering has been a part of my life for nearly 20 years. I started while enrolled in Community College, near Palos, Illinois, during my wanderings in the forest preserve that surrounded the campus. Between classes, I often found myself exploring the lakes and trails throughout the preserve. Hiking, biking, and great photos brought me in, but it was something unexpected that kept me around. During these tromps through the ‘wilderness’, I often found troves of trash left behind by all sorts of people. I was happy to know so many others were finding solace in those woods, but I just wished they were familiar with the principles of ‘Leave no trace’. Anyhow, armed with an empty garbage bag and a phrase learned in my philosophy class by German philosopher Immanuel Kant, “Ought implies must”, I felt I was on to something; this was my opportunity to do better. I soon found so much comfort in the work I was doing that other activities took a back seat to my newfound passion. This story didn’t end there, though, oh no! A few years later, while volunteering for the Shawnee National Forest, I met someone who at the time was just another student, but now, 17 years later, I call her my wife and the mother of our child. What an amazing journey.
The spirit of volunteerism, I have found, is alive and well in many folks here at TCF. So much so that many of our careers with TCF began with us volunteering. Today, I have the honor of working with nearly a half dozen volunteers who have been devoting their time and effort to helping with everything we do at the farm, from planting to harvesting, and everything in between, for much longer than I have been here. Our volunteers are no doubt an integral part of what we do, and for that, we are so grateful. Long-time volunteers share with us how things were done in the past, and they also help teach younger and newer volunteers how to do what we do. Not because they have to, just because they want to help, truly and fully. These are people who come week after week, sometimes on multiple days, to help us do all the things that we need to do in order to grow healthy food responsibly, while living with respect for all of the life that depends on what goes on at McDonald Farm.
Most of our veterans are here because they have had other careers, but now enjoy their free time by spending it doing good. However, it’s not only the veterans who make a difference. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who are looking to start their careers, and just like I had, they’re looking to spend their lives making things better for the lot of us. Although younger volunteers tend to have more on their plates, they are no less willing to help, and we are happy to have them! We also work with a handful of folks who actively have careers outside the farm, and they still find ways to eek out a few hours to come lend a hand, or two! Just imagine, if every single person we know spent some of their time volunteering to help others, what a wonderful world this could be!
If any of this sounds familiar to you, or you would like it to, we invite you to come out and give it a try. Whether helping to wash & pack on Monday, Tuesday, or Friday mornings, weeding on Wednesdays, or helping with harvests on Thursdays, we welcome you. I would also invite you to check out the other great volunteer opportunities at TCF on our website, or to check out any of the other great non-profit organizations that host volunteers. Try it, and I swear, you’ll like it, because working with your community to make life better is one of the most noble things you can do. To those of you who are already doing this, all I can say is thank you, and I can’t say it enough. With that, I hope to see you out volunteering either here or elsewhere, because if there is one thing we all want, it is for a better life for ourselves and those who come after us.
Be well, Farmer Russ