Salvation Army Capt. Mark Haslett looked around the former Dollar General in pleased amazement. In all directions, teens and adults boxed up cans, bagged up gifts and got things ready for the Salvation Army to give away. In less than an hour, close to 300 boxes had been filled.
“Holy cow, I never expected this many people,” Haslett told The Rev. John Glennon of Hope Community Church as the church’s youth group members kept coming back for one more box. “You told me 10, John.”
“I said 15 to 20,” Glennon responded.
Try closer to 25. And on a different night, the crowd of volunteers could have been still bigger — Wednesday night overlapped the seasonal celebration and many of the church’s teens had to perform.
It’s heartwarming. But it shouldn’t be surprising. According to a recent study, this is what Kansans do best.
A report by the Corporation for National and Community Service ranked Kansas eighth in the nation for volunteer rates. On average, Kansans contribute nearly 88 million hours of volunteer service a year, and from 2003 to 2005, the state’s 38.6 percent volunteer rate was higher than the nation’s (28.8 percent) and the Midwest overall (33.2 percent).
Part of the secret may simply be a more personal touch.
“The nice piece about Emporia that, to me, makes volunteering a lot of fun is that in a lot of places, you’re wanted and accepted,” said Angie Schreiber, who volunteers three to eight hours a day for the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce. “Everyone knows so many people. In a big city, you wouldn’t have that camaraderie.”
Schreiber has volunteered for one thing or another since belonging to the Kayettes service group in high school. As a self-employed language therapist, she often gave presentations on learning disabilities to groups such as Leadership Emporia. But her job went on hold when she began struggling with chronic pain.
Last summer, as Schreiber continued to work through health problems, Liz Martell of the Convention and Visitors Bureau asked whether she wanted to fill a little time by helping out at the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce. The activity soon became addictive.
“Around the first of November, it became ‘What if I come down here a couple of days a week?’” Schreiber said. “And now it’s almost become a full-time job, it’s so much fun.”
For others, it’s a chance to give back. When Jose Bautista was laid off from a job with the city 4 1/2 years ago, his family’s Christmas dinner and presents ended up coming from the Salvation Army. He and his wife, Stacie, never forgot that.
“We asked for help and now we’re trying to help other people out,” said Bautista who is now employed at Menu and returned in November from military service in Iraq. The Bautistas helped pack boxes Wednesday night and next week will help the Salvation Army pass them out to families in need — a holiday tradition for the couple.
“It’s moving,” Stacie Bautista said. “There are lots of tears, lots of happy people.”
“It feels good to help, to know we can help,” her husband said.
It felt good to 13-year-old Mariah Jacob, too. And after working with the church youth group Wednesday, she was ready for more of it.
“I’ve never really had the chance to volunteer for anything, unless it’s for my school,” she said. “It would be pretty cool if I could do it more. Normally, half the time I’m at home, bored, doing nothing. It’d be something for me to do.”
That’s exactly what Glennon wanted to hear.
“I think our youth truly want to help more,” he said. “They need to learn to give back.”