Blog & Vlog

Volunteers Are My Heroes!

By Nikki Ringenberg on January 20, 2012

Since my job is to raise money for Bridges, I often forget about some of the other gifts that we are given which also make a huge impact on our agency and the services we provide to the Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing communities.  The gift of time is such a large blessing, as it also comes with a gift of energy, talent, and care.  I have been very blessed for the past six months to have two wonderful interns volunteer with me weekly.  These young ladies have each dutifully given of themselves an average of six hours per week since the fall, sometimes working as much as 15 hours in any week, all while they attend local universities and work part time jobs. 

I’m not the only one that has the blessing of regular volunteers.  The Living Well program also has dedicated volunteers who appear weekly in the office to touch base with Donicé about their week’s activities in the community or just to help out.  The Interpreting program has committed individuals who give up a day a week to work in Bridges’s office helping to answer the phones, field questions, and take interpreting requests.  I could practically write a book about the Youth Center volunteers. There are multiple, dedicated volunteers that show up weekly to staff the After School Program during it’s three days a week of programming.  Without these amazing individuals, Bridges would not be the same agency…and I would pull my hair out much more frequently!

Next time you stop by the office and see a volunteer, please thank them for giving of their time and of themselves to this agency, and if you have a few minutes, offer to lend them a hand.  If you are interested in volunteering, we’d love to have you join our dedicated team!  Give us a call or send us an email, and we’ll discuss how you’d like to contribute to Bridges’s work serving the Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing communities.

- Nikki

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