April 19 – 25 is designated as Volunteer Appreciation Week. If we take the time to notice, volunteers are all around us, helping us live our lives to the fullest by doing things that may go unnoticed.
Volunteers can be of any age. Grandparents, parents, men, women, teens, and youngsters take time to pick up trash from local creek banks in parks. Older students help younger ones during reading time at school.
Volunteers help pull weeds at the local arboretum. They lead tours at local museums. They pick up litter along state, local, and interstate highways.
Volunteers come from groups like scouting organizations, hunting clubs, or are individuals who care deeply about the environment and their community. They can serve as crossing guards and ushers at concerts.
Of course, we can’t forget volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians who leave their jobs, family gatherings, and other activities to help someone in need for little or no pay.
Yesterday, grandparents, friends, parents, brothers, sisters, mentors, and the students themselves helped knot and stitch comforters for five high school seniors who will soon graduate. It’s an annual tradition.
Folks from our church also volunteer weekly at a local elementary school attended by children who live near the church. The volunteers pack food into bags for food-insecure families. It’s amazing how staff members and students alike thank the volunteers as they travel throughout the school and deposit the food-filled bags outside of classrooms.
I’ve only listed a few ways people can volunteer to help others. In what ways do you volunteer?
© Bruce Stambaugh 2026
Roadkill Crossing 
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