We all know them. They are the people who are first to raise their hands at the PTO or School Council meeting to take on an unenviable task. They are the people who start the ball rolling on a fundraising effort to benefit someone with an illness or fire loss. They are the unsung everyday heroes working quietly on the periphery of our vision.
These people — and they span all age groups — never take credit for their efforts. They are more likely to hand off the good work they have started to someone else and then move onto another worthy project. They are people who don’t want a pat on the back, much less monetary compensation. Most of them don’t even like to be called volunteers.
It’s not hard to find them. Visit a senior living center or a children’s ward in a hospital and look for the people reading to seniors or kids. Drive by a Veterans Affairs facility or clinic and keep an eye out for the person dropping off a veteran for an appointment. Stop by almost any house of worship and ask who helped clean the building following the most recent service or who helped paint it last summer.
The motivation that spurs these heroes to help others is difficult, if not impossible, for some people to fathom and completely understandable to others. Some of them walked the same path as the people they are helping. They might have learned to read as an adult or fought overseas for our country. Others are guided by less obvious motivations. Expressions like “doing the right thing” or “paying it forward” are probably the best explanations for their selflessness.
Human nature makes it pretty easy to come up with excuses for not helping other people. It’s easy to say, “I’m not feeling great today” or “I’m too busy to spend time doing that” or “Why would anyone want my help?” Life’s unsung heroes don’t ponder these questions because they know the answers are meaningless compared to the many who are desperately relying on the few for all kinds of help.
Winter tends to slow us down a little so maybe now is the time to look around and thank the quiet heroes or, better yet, follow their examples.