In an effort to encourage more Reynolds employees to get involved in volunteering and to highlight some of the valuable community service efforts that our employees are already engaged in, the Reynolds LEADS team recently interviewed several Reynolds employees about their experience as volunteers in the local community. This is the third installment of the "Reynolds Cares" series.
Q: Can you describe your volunteer effort(s)? What group do you serve? What’s their mission? What kinds of things do volunteers do for this group?
BE: I volunteer with Post 6364 Veterans of
Foreign Wars Auxiliary. The mission of this group is to serve all veterans of
foreign wars in honor of their sacrifice and commitment and I want this to be a
legacy to my father’s memory. I have had
the distinct pleasure and opportunity to serve as a volunteer Guardian for a
WWII veteran five times on Honor Flight, a one day trip to Washington DC to see
their monument. Other ongoing activities
include assisting with Bingo at McGuire VA Center, handing our goodies bags to
veterans in the hospital during the holidays, making cookies for special
distribution during the year, an annual wheel chair wash for residents in local
assisted living housing. I also
attend/participate in parades, special events, fund raisers, Toys for Tots for
Marines each Christmas, and yard sales. Sometimes visiting with a veteran is
the most rewarding time of all.
I also thoroughly enjoy volunteering with Sports Backers
RVA. This group is dedicated to the
mission of making greater Richmond a physically active community. They sponsor
events that include families, individuals, and groups. (Also, many events are
dog friendly.) Recently helping with the event for local people during the UCI
bike races was an exciting volunteer activity.
Q: How or why did you get
involved in volunteering?
BE: I moved to Richmond from another state and
this gave me an opportunity to learn about the community, meet people, and to
establish a feeling of connection. The
flexibility of scheduling my volunteer time afforded me freedom to choose
activities I like and am good at. It
also helped me cope with feeling isolated after the move. I became a lifetime
member of Post 6364 Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary because my father was a
WWII veteran and had actively served in the American Legion for 50+ years. He instilled in me a continuing interest in
veterans by allowing me to participate in activities with him.
Q: How long have you been
involved? How much time do you devote to volunteering?
BE: I have been a member of VFWA for fourteen
(14) years and have volunteered with Sports Backers four (4) years. My time fluctuates depending on activities I
am involved with but about 1-2 hours a week and at least 100 hours a year is a
normal amount of time I volunteer.
Q: Do your volunteer efforts
impact your job at Reynolds?
BE: I utilize [the college’s] volunteer leave
to assist at the McGuire VA Medical Center for Stand Down each year. Veterans come and receive free clothing,
food, haircuts, and counseling. I often
have opportunity to recommend Reynolds Community College to veterans and people
I come in contact with at all events.
Once I was able to follow up with an individual I met who became a
student here. Most of my volunteer time
is during the evening or weekend.
Q: Do you have any tips for
others who want to get involved?
BE: I would recommend anyone interested in
becoming a volunteer to first attend an event as a spectator. You will get caught up in the enthusiasm and
want to become more involved. It would be helpful to look for volunteer activities that
hold an interest to you as a way to meet a personal need/desire. Maybe you want to meet people, or learn
something new. Look for events that will
provide opportunities that also can meet your schedule.
