Dr. Rob Cox is celebrating 26 years volunteering at CrossOver. When he began volunteering in 1995, he came to CrossOver twice a month. About 15 years ago, he began serving once a week. “And in two years when I retire,” he says, “I'll start coming twice a week.
“It's the most exciting time of the week for me,” he adds.
“Dr Cox is so devoted to CrossOver,” says Kerri Reed, CrossOver's senior program manager for the dental program. “He's served on the board, contributed financially, and mentored students. He's also recruited other people to donate and volunteer. He's been so generous and such a huge advocate for CrossOver.”
Dr. Cox enjoys volunteering for a lot of reasons. “It's just a lot of fun,” he says. (Kerri Reed calls Dr. Cox “the rock and roll dentist,” because of his energy and the music he likes to play while he works.)
He also relishes the diversity he encounters at CrossOver. “We tend to live in bubbles,” he explains. “We socialize with people like us, and go to church with people like us, and live near people like us. If you want to encounter people who are different from you, you have to be intentional.” He marvels at the demographic changes he's witnessed in Richmond over the years he's served at CrossOver. When he started, his patients were all English speakers. A few years later, more Spanish-speaking patients began coming to CrossOver. A few years after that, more and more patients spoke Arabic. “Now,” he says, “our patients are so international. It's amazing. And if you stayed in your bubble, you might never know that.”
Most importantly, Dr. Cox says, he comes because he feels called. “I'm a follower of Jesus, and I believe that God has a special place in his heart for the people CrossOver serves."
“I really love it,” he says. “I could do it for another 20 years.”
