Volunteering? (Please read, thanks!)

[LawnDart21 0]

Okay, so about two years ago, I was on a sunset load, and pulled high to enjoy the sunset. I remember sitting there watching the magnificent hues of the sun reflecting off the clouds and I started to think to myself how lucky I was to be a skydiver, and how thankful I was for being able to see & appreciate this wonderous view. Shortly there after, I realized that I wanted to find a way to say "Thank you" to the world around me for being so priviledged to do what we do. I did some research and found a local nonprofit organization called MAB (Massachusetts Association for the Blind www.mablind.org) and signed up to be a volunteer. I have spent the last two years working with people that are blind, taking them grociery shopping, paying thier bills, reading mail, etc, and I just wanted to take a moment and offer to the community here, my observations of my experience. I once thought skydiving was the most amazing experience my life could find, but I have found that volunteering has become that life changing expeirence and actually now makes my skydives that much more amazing. It has redefined how much more I now appreciate what I see and experience up in the sky. Well, I justgot back from having coffee with my blind friend Don, and I wanted to share my experience with you all, in hopes that it might motivate someone to take a chance and see if they can get involved with helping some in their community. I know we have a ton of great people on here at dz.com, and we all do what we can to help others in our own way, I just wanted to share how amazing my experience has been working with the blind these last two years, and ask of you, if you have the time, to see if you too might be able to find the time to volunteer with an organization in your area. There are thousands of blind people around the country that are out there waiting to change your life, and I just thought I'd see if I could use this as a means to motivate some to go find them.
Blue skies, Tom

[Taylor610 0]

Thank you for sharing. You will be blessed for what you do, in more ways than you could ever recognize.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Thanks, Tom! It's people like you that help Autistic kids in school try to understand the world they live in...and the bestest helpers try to meet those babies in their own world, too.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[Paige 0]

I volunteered every quarter I was in college for a requirement in a business fraternity. I also found this to be an awesome experience. It changed my life. I'm sad I'm in an interum postion, looking to move to FL asap, and wouldn't want to commit to anything and then have to move.

I'll be looking in the DeLand and Ormond Beach area if anyone is interested is teamin up for giving back some skydiving love to the community around us that may not jump.

Volunteer just once and your life will change, I promise you this. It makes you thankful for all of the wonderful things we have (this sport is not cheap so we've all got some cash) but it makes you even more thanful for the non-monitary events in our lives. It just makes your mind and body feel good knowing you helped someone else who needed it.

Tunnel Pink Mafia Delegate
www.TunnelPinkMafia.com

[LawnDart21 0]

Thank you Wally!

You know I talk with my fiance (also a jumper, lucky me!) about being a TM and how it gives me a feeling of being a "temporary super hero" sometimes, because it allows me to show people our environment and experience for the first time, and how I get to witness first hand the "life changing" effect it has on them when we land. Volunteering makes me feel the same way in a sense, it's so humbling yet so reaffirming to be able to make such a drastic and immediate positive impact on the quaility of their lives. Plus, I got two new great friends out the deal as well, as Don & Jeanette (the two I volunteer with each week) have become a big part of my life. Both of them will be attending my wedding in October, and we all (Don, Jeanette, my fiance and myself) have this very special bond between us all now. It's pretty cool, I never saw it coming, and thats the best part. We've all become so close, it no longer feels like "volunteering", its now just spending time with new friends!

Thanks again! Tom

[jessd 0]

Thank you for sharing your story. My grandmother was blind for the last 10 or so years of her life. She used to go to the Boston Aid to the Blind where they did different activities and learned ways to adjust to life being blind. I would go there with her and was just amazed at how most of the people were able to get by in day-to-day life. I think about how being there made me feel and hope to someday get involved again with volunteering. Just seeing how much one small organization impacted the lives of those who went there was a great feeling. Especially since I knew how much my grandmother missed the sense of sight. Being a part of the Boston Aid to the Blind gave something back to her.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away..."