Helping Man's Best Friend Help Others

Today was my first adventure into volunteering for an event that I have no connection to at all. I simply knew that I wanted to do more for those who are afflicted or disadvantaged, and come up with a few new T-shirts in the process (see earlier post). I had no idea what to expect and no idea what I might be asked to do as a volunteer.

My wife decided to accompany me on this venture. This is a big deal not because my wife does not want to help out, but the event needed us to be there by 6:30 (in reality we should have been there at 6:00) AM. It was great to have someone come along on my first adventure. We showed up at 6:30 went to the volunteer tent and we were not on the "list". I had contacted the event host director directly and he did not relay this information on to the volunteer coordinator. She was a bit lost as to what to do with us.

We put ourselves to work by meeting with Roy, the event host. This is his cause. It is for those of all walks of life who simply are not having a good time of it. This was his first big event, a 5K run, with dogs, called Paws for the Cause. Roy had us set up a table with literature about the organization, and then he turned us loose on whatever else was needed. We both take the initiative and very rarely stand by to watch others do the work, so when we were done with the table we moved on to the Registration Tent.

At any running event, the Registration Tent is the nerve center of all the action. This is where people check in, get their running bib, goody bag, and most important, the T-Shirt. It is always busy at every event because there are always those participants who decide at the last minute that they will go ahead and do the run. When we got to the table it was well staffed and running smoothly. We were a bit stymied.

We soon came upon the next important piece of any charity event, the secondary fund raiser. This is sometimes a silent auction, other times it is a straight donation, and the most popular is a raffle for some type of donated prize. My wife and I, and another volunteer Sue, were now in charge of selling raffle tickets. 1 for $5 or 3 for $10. I can still hear it echoing in my ear from saying it for the better part of the morning.

The problem with raffles and runners is one of logistics. Runners very rarely carry anything with them that is not running related. They just don't carry cash. The good news this morning was the fact that many of them had their dogs with them which meant that they had to carry quite a bit of other "stuff" to make sure that Rover, Bubbles, or Roscoe were well taken care of. I was here to volunteer and this was the task. It wasn't something I was really looking forward to, but I wanted to help this organization and its cause, so I started into the huckster role of the carnival barker.

My wife and Sue were recruited to the timing of the event. This was a hand timed event, most of the bigger events give you a microchip to attach to your shoe, it is amazingly accurate because it does not start your time until you cross the start line and touch the finish line. I was stuck selling tickets. Part of the problem now was the lack of people to sell to. My customers were running for the next 3.1 miles. Most of them would finish in well under an hour and then they would take off. No sale. Profit lost. No additional funds for the program. I needed something else to do, but what?

I quickly moved to breaking down boxes and getting the registration tent ready for cleanup. I was asked to deliver a box of gifts and prizes to the emcee tent, hosted by a local DJ and former Angel baseball player. I wanted to turn over the tickets to those who were supposed to be doing this in the first place. The group who signed up to be here at 8:00 AM to make sure that more money was raised for the cause. The Laker Girls. That's right, I was doing the job of the Laker Girls. In fact, I'm sure that I was responsible for more sales then they were. No spandex for me thanks, just good old fashioned hard work.

I finished up at the finish line so one of the other volunteers could take his family to breakfast. I was in charge of getting the bib tear off, the ID so that people could check their time for the race. The folks who were finishing at this time, the 1 hour+ mark, were not worried about their time. They were there to go for a nice walk with their dog and friends and support the efforts of the organization. Every person I met this morning was doing their very best to make sure that the efforts of the organization were first and foremost in their minds. At least every person but one.

I had the opportunity to interact with the one person who apparently had other things to concern herself over. In the Registration Tent, we give away T-Shirts, that way the vendors and sponsors can get the extra advertising that will have little to no effect on whether or not someone uses their business. Races usually have a few Smalls, some Mediums, and a lot of Large and Extra Large shirts. It is always a first come first serve situation. You really want a small or medium, get there early. This lady wanted her small. Despite the fact that all of the volunteers working the booth apologized for the fact that we were already out of smalls, and that we had no control over the ordering process, when she was asked what size a second time she still said small. She complained to us. She wanted to rant. We apologized, gave her a medium and sent her on her way. I hope she had a good race. I hope that she had as good a time as the rest of the participants and the volunteer staff. I know that I can't wait for the next time I volunteer. By the way, I got a Large and so did my wife.