Just a volunteer who cares and shares | As I See It

Have you ever wondered why people volunteer? I suppose it may be to shine a favorable light on a business in which they may be involved.

Sponsorship of a community project may be just the thing that would draw us in to buy products from the big warehouse company on Main Street or Whatever Boulevard. What about these people who don’t have a company that they are associated with, you know, the ones who just show up for Kent Downtown Cleanup Day or some other remote endeavor that brings no visible credit to the volunteer whatsoever?

Like, there is this business owner in Kent who doesn’t wait for a special day where he will be recognized for his volunteerism, he just goes out and blows the leaves and dirt off the sidewalks and streets in front of businesses all over Kent. I don’t even remember the name of his company and he doesn’t carry a sign to advertise his wares, he just does it. What is with this guy?

Then there is this lawyer in town who is at every volunteer function and then some. He is always ready to help and I never have seen him hand out a business card. In fact, as I think about it, there is actually more than one Kent lawyer fitting that description. We just don’t have any big people in Kent, just people who are gigantic in stature and caring.

That bring us to the volunteer organizations in Kent. These are interesting because you can really get buried in one of these so deep, never to surface enough to have anybody recognize that you belong. I know people in Rotary, for example, who go to every meeting in Kent and when they are away on vacation in another state, they go to a totally unknown Rotary group in that location. You can go by their office and the door will be locked because they are “Gone to Rotary.” To heck with business, to heck with vacation, I just want to serve.

But an interesting thing looms up in the middle of all these faceless Rotarians who give their time and money, a big wonderful fountain looms up, that is filled with kids in the center of downtown Kent. They bought it and built it and I suspect many of the people who bring their kids to be a family there, don’t know one name of one person, who was a part of creating that little bit of heaven for them.

Then there is the Kiwanis. They too, are filled with Kent business people who are nameless. Most Kent citizens wouldn’t know why they give so much time and personal money without some kind of recognition. They put on programs during the year to raise money for their programs, so the volunteers in their club can continue to buy books and school supplies and shirts, to encourage students to reach for higher goals in education, and all the while remaining nameless, faceless volunteers.

The Kent Lions Club is an interesting bunch of people. These nameless people are the ones responsible for the Cornucopia Days celebration and the Christmas tree lighting and a bunch of other things that Kent citizens of all ages enjoy throughout the year. As with the other two groups everything goes to help others.

I don’t know all of the programs that the Kent Lions Club supports, but I do know that they gave a thousand dollars to The MARSOC Foundation, an organization that replaces arms and legs on special operations command Marines and Sailors. That’s good enough for me, I like them.

That’s what seems to be a key ingredient in the recipe that makes our city so great. Not that we have giving groups or clubs, but that we have giving people, volunteers, who fill these clubs, and outside the clubs continue to volunteer on their own. These are our business people and the individuals who just want to give time and talent or just plain elbow grease, and don’t expect any applause of any kind.

That’s what makes our Kent great and that’s what makes us, “Kent, the city that smiles.”

Longtime Kent resident Don DinAlpha XR regularly contributes to the Kent Reporter.