Thank You to our Volunteers!

Being a volunteer is one of the biggest highlights of my life. Of course, there’s motherhood and family. Those are highlights, too, but they are a given – involuntary, if you will excuse the pun. Being a volunteer is a choice.  Actually, it’s like a disease, a disease in reverse. Like a disease, it grows, but unlike a disease, it grows in a good way. It makes you feel great to give your time and talents to a good cause, to help a neighbor, to make a contribution. Once you volunteer, you find yourself becoming addicted to that feeling to the point that you begin to think, “I’ve got to learn to say ‘no’!”  

This blog started out as a thank you to a volunteer who has made a contribution to the community that hasn’t gotten much fanfare, but is significant in its own way. If you’ve had the opportunity to pass by the corners of Franklin and Wood Streets, you may have noticed that the drab, cement-colored Mosaico Park has been transformed. Last year the planters were painted and some flowers were planted. This year, more flowers have been planted and the park is regularly swept and weeded. The park looks terrific. All as a result of the tireless, volunteer efforts of Gary Watros, who has taken on the park as his own little project. He has the blessings (and support) of the Parks and Recreation Department and Mosaico, of course, but most of the ideas, the plants, and the work were the contributions of Mr. Watros. So I wanted to send a big thank you to him. He really has made a difference to the Wood Street neighborhood. 

When I was considering this thank-you blog to Mr. Watros, I remembered another selfless volunteer in town, , who can often be seen walking along the shore of Poppasquash Road picking up debris and trash. Thank you, Mr. Dimock. The shore looks great!

As this Volunteer blog continued to rattle around in my head, I thought about the many other volunteers that deserve a big “Thank you!” I don’t want to focus on the small without including the big. There are “big” volunteers out there. Volunteering, you see, can be done in both big and small ways. Big or small, the impact on both the receiver and the giver is huge! 

So here is my personal thank you to volunteers, especially:

• Everyone who notices a neighbor that needs a helping hand, a child that needs a sense of direction, a friend that needs a shoulder to cry on or a celebration of a small victory. It doesn’t take a lot to get that feeling that comes with being a volunteer.
• Those who open their doors and hearts to the neediest of us, whether it’s in a food bank, soup kitchen, hospital, or the schools. You make a difference.
• The people who run for public office. As much as we like to tell them how they should be doing their jobs – and how well (or badly) they are doing them – we still appreciate that they give up their time to attend countless meetings, staying on top of things to help to make our Town a wonderful place to live, work, and raise our children.
• The men and women of the Bristol Volunteer Fire and Rescue department and the Bristol Police department.  It always amazes me that there are so many of you, that you are always there to offer a helping hand to whoever needs it. I know that the police are not volunteers, but it still takes a special person to “serve and protect”. Thank you.
• The ultimate volunteers, the men and women of our Armed Forces. They are involved in conflicts all over the world, protecting us and our global neighbors from those that seek to destroy and dominate the weak and vulnerable. They leave their families and place themselves often in harm’s way, to do a tough job.  Thank you to you and your families.  There are few other words to fully express the love and appreciation that I have for you.  To quote William Shakespeare, “I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.”

Happy 4^th of July, everyone!