My Grandmother

Volunteering represents a way of life for so many members of our community and a wonderful way to extend support, skills, and knowledge to others. You may have your own personal experiences as a volunteer; still others may have been impacted by the work of a volunteer who has dedicated time to benefit the lives of others.

In this Blog Assignment, you will develop a profile of a volunteer, in which you describe the work of someone who has impacted the lives of other through volunteerism. This may be a very personal blog, where you share your own work or the efforts of someone close to you, or you may describe the volunteer efforts of someone whom you do not know personally but whom you greatly admire.

By Saturday, post a "Profile of a Volunteer" post in your blog using the following guidelines:

• Create a space on your blog entitled "Profile of a Volunteer."
• Describe the volunteer efforts of the person you have elected to profile.
• Identify how you feel this person's work has positively impacted others.
• Describe what you feel is a vital "take-away" message relative to this work in terms of your own volunteer efforts and advocacy work in fostering the well-being of children and families.

This post is about my grandmother. The most giving women I know. She is 83 years old and constantly puts herself before others. She has always been someone who gives and does not expect anything in return. All summer leading up to winter she knits hats and scarves. She has arthritis in her hands, and is in so much pain, but she still knits. Then when she is all done, she donates them to local churches and retirement homes. Through her own pain, she takes the time each year to do this. To some this may not be a big deal, she is not feeding hungry children or volunteering at the homeless shelter, but to me it shows an act of selflessness. While I am taking a hour or two before I go to bed to fiddle with my iPhone or watch TV, she is knitting for others.

What I take away from this is that my grandmother is a person who even at 83 is taking the time to think about the needs of others. Even if she can only make 20 hats and scarves, she still does it. I think she will do this till her hand literally make her stop. She is a great woman, and I am afraid that our future is going to see less and less of people like this.