It’s 39 degrees and raining on a Saturday morning.
Tired from a very busy week, I contemplated rolling over when I heard my alarm go off. Instead of going back to sleep, I got dressed in my warmest clothes, and added a waterproof layer. It was October 29, 2011 -- the Fourth Annual HandsOn Day in Richmond and I was headed to meet the Floricane team to volunteer in an outdoor project!
While I really wanted to climb back into bed, I had signed up to volunteer for the Chimbarazo Secret Garden Clean-up. One of only two outdoor projects that day, it was a very cold bonding experience for the Floricane team members who were not sidelined by pregnancy and sickness. We pulled weeds, laid cardboard, and improved the overall health of the garden.
The thing that kept me going was knowing that I was part of a much bigger movement that day. A movement through Richmond to catapult the region into a volunteer friendly town.
It felt amazing to be part of a community of more than 970 people around Richmond, all of who were giving up a Saturday morning to make our town a better place. From the HandonRVA blog - “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” – Albert Pike
Find out more about the volunteer opportunities with HandsOnRVA, including their planned activities for this January's Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service.