Why do I volunteer? There have always been several reasons. First, my parents volunteered when I was young; and I grew up with understanding that it was the expected of me as well. It was something that I should do. For me volunteering started out as a way to meet people.
That all changed one night in Chicago.
I had joined a group of volunteers who went out to day care centers, schools, and hospitals entertaining children by acting out stories. We called ourselves the Madhatters because we wore hats to identify the characters in the stories. Eeyore was a headband with two grey felt ears attached. Winnie the Pooh was a mustard colored stocking cap with two felt ears. Our Winnie the Pooh stories were always the favorites with the children.
One night, we went to Rush Pres St. Luke’s Hospital to do a performance. We were shown to a bare room where a few chairs had been scattered around. Pretty soon after we arrived, the children came in. Some walked in on their own; but most arrived in wheelchairs. Just as we were about to start, I noticed a gurney being wheeled in with a little girl who must have been about seven. The only way that I can describe her is that she was all crumpled up.
We started our performance and went through our routines. But we were not getting the reactions from the children that we had gotten so many other times from other children. After the children left, we were walking down the hall trying to figure out what we could have done differently.
It was then that I felt a tug on my sleeve. “Miss, Miss.” I turned around and saw a woman who was smaller than I was. She had on a housedress and well-worn shoes. But her face was happy and her eyes were alive. “Miss, Miss, did you see my daughter? Did you see her?” It took me a moment to realize that her daughter was the little girl on the gurney.
“Miss, Miss, did you see my daughter? She smiled!” A smile was a triumph for this little girl and her mother. I had no idea that the children were hurting that much.
I hope and pray that I will have the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the heart to be open to the needs of others.
Betsy Parker
