Volunteers do it for free.

What makes Dunwoody truly great is the limitless capacity of friends and neighbors to volunteer their time and talent for causes near and dear to their hearts. 

In the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of working with volunteers at Dunwoody High School, Dunwoody Nature Center, Campaign Guy's energetic yard sign brigade, the DeKalb Master Gardener program, and St. Luke's Presbyterian Church. As I've shopped, carpooled, and run errands, I've also encountered volunteers like the firefighters collecting for Muscular Dystrophy, a sweet woman staffing the gift shop at Scottish Rite, parents loading and unloading instruments for the Friday night Marching Band performance, a young mom carrying a bag and picking up trash as she walked her child to Austin Elementary School, bloggers spreading the news about community events to Dunwoody's virtual neighborhood, the Young Professionals of Dunwoody planning a spectacular block party benefiting the DHS Band program, and .... well, frankly, seeing volunteers isn't just an occasional thing in Dunwoody. It's a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-'em, integral part of life in this It's a Wonderful Life town.

John F. Kennedy gave us all an echoing call to volunteerism, asking us to give, not receive; to look for opportunities to serve, not to benefit.  The Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, and other world-changing volunteer organizations are a legacy of my childhood, that era when a passion to change the world preempted practical considerations like retirement funds and keeping up with the Joneses. Dunwoody is well represented by volunteer service organizations like the National Charity League, Dunwoody Woman's Club, Rotary and Kiwanis, faith groups, medical-focused charities, and others.

As this economy makes all of us look over our shoulders and fret over savings and expenditures, volunteers are even more critical to the quality of life we enjoy.  According to The Nonprofit Times,

"(t)he total estimated value of volunteer service in 2010 reached $173 billion with the proportion of volunteers serving more than 100 hours increasing from 33.2 percent in 2009 to 33.8 percent in 2010."

My unsubstantiated guess is that the percentage of Dunwoody volunteers serving that 100+ hour mark is even higher.

As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 draws near, remember. And do something. Honor our men and women in uniform by using the freedoms they fight so hard to defend. Including volunteering your time and talent to enrich our community. Check with Dunwoody's own Pebbletossers,  Hands on Atlanta, and the City's volunteer opportunities board. Grab a trash bag and talk a walk around town - there's always windblown trash in natural areas and rights-of-way. 

Volunteers do it for free .... and from the heart.

The care and feeding of volunteers.

One of my great pleasures is tending to the many volunteers who staff Dunwoody Nature Center's camp programs. They range from brand-new junior counselors barely in their tween years to just-graduated veterans who are volunteering the summer before college just because they like being at the Nature Center. AG and her BFF D are working next week with our smallest campers, the Teenies, who need laps to lounge in and lots of hugs in their first camp experience.

Gotta love 'em.

Last year, I inaugurated "Wonderful Wednesdays," bringing fresh-baked treats to the volunteers and teachers to enjoy as they darted from one activity to the next. Favorites have been the old school peanut butter bars reminiscent of my high school cafeteria outside Goldsboro, North Carolina to fresh, organic blueberry bars full of plump berries and topped with a cheesecake-like icing.

I'm trying a new recipe for them tomorrow: chocolate peanut butter squares. They taste like Reese's and are a breeze to make. If they're a hit, they'll make a return visit later in the summer.

Here's the recipe, submitted by "Nancy" to www.allrecipes.com:

Peanut Butter Bars

• 1 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

Because it's the right thing to do.

My husband and I were talking yesterday about the people who do things without recognition. They aren't looking for praise or accolades - they just do something because it's needed or it helps someone.

Take the people who showed up yesterday at Dunwoody Nature Center, despite the frigid temps and biting wind. It was our monthly Hands On Atlanta workday, a fact in itself that is wonderful and amazing. Random volunteers show up one Saturday morning each month and tend to the unending chore list. Coordinator Martha Moore is the constant, leading the troops and never flagging in her commitment to do the right thing. This group included six Kohls' Department Store employees. They cut privet and ivy, laid mulch on trails, and even hung a wall cabinet in the office. Wow.

At St. Luke's Presbyterian Church, quiet volunteers take care of hanging and taking down Christmas decorations, refill children's worship activity binders with worksheets and crayons, keep Sunday School class members apprised of prayer needs and celebrations, move the baptismal font into position, clean the communion trays, and so many other necessities.

Last week, someone dropped a load of small bits of paper for about a quarter mile down Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and Roberts Drive, between the village and the Nature Center. I saw the mess as I went to work and decided I'd pick up a bag and start cleaning up. But someone was ahead of me. A woman with a large black garbage bag was stooping and clearing, steadily taking care of the mess. I don't know how far back the mess had started, but she was leaving a clean roadside behind her.

None of these "jobs" is high profile. But just imagine life without someone taking care of things, just because it's the right thing to do. For our family, "It's the right thing to do" is our credo and the deciding factor for many choices we make.

Volunteering is also an opportunity to step away from our own cares and worries. Between jobs, during stressful times, while trying to make a decision, or waiting for something to happen . . . volunteering can put things in perspective and open new options. Help build a house or knit blankets for stillborns while you're job-hunting. Pick up a rake or hammer while you're trying to make an important decision. Deliver a meal or make sandwiches for the homeless while you're waiting for a diagnosis or working through a broken relationship. Everyone hurts and everyone can help.

Choose to help. It's the right thing to do.

Knitting with butterflies

We just wrapped up the 15th (or is it 16th? 17th? I've lost count) annual Butterfly Festival at Dunwoody Nature Center and I'm tired. I just worked a week's worth in two days and am feeling every minute of it.

More than 1,400 visitors strolled through the butterfly tent, made crafts, learned about insects, munched hotdogs and drank lemonade, had their faces painted, shopped in the Butterfly Boutique, and took tons of photos.

Thanks to the most magnificent queen of volunteers I've ever worked with, every single volunteer station was staffed, from setting up concessions and grilling hot dogs to helping with our extremely limited parking options. It was hot, busy, exhausting work, and those wonderful people pulled everything off with grace and diligence.

I'm always awed by the capacity of people to step out of their everyday lives and make memories for strangers. While the press focuses on the charming delight of our youngest visitors, I have to say that the "behind the scenes" work of scores of volunteers is the real magic of our Butterfly Festival.

Today we take a breather before tackling all the cleaning up and putting away that follows any special event. I'm reconnecting with my family (remember me?), picking up the Baby Surprise Jacket, and putting the house back in order.

It feels good to be home.