Yes that’s right, the people of Whatcom County are MAD… making a difference, that is.   Hundreds of people, both old and young turned out on October 25th to take part in Make a Difference Day: a national movement that was hosted locally by the Whatcom Volunteer Center.

The day started out somewhat early, for a Saturday at least.  People from all walks of life packed the auditorium at Bellingham High School to enjoy a free breakfast as well as hear some words of motivation from Bellingham’s Mayor, Dan Pike.  The morning gathering also served as a chance for everyone to get more information about their projects that they signed up for.   It was at this point that me and my colleague, Matt Thogerson decided that we were going to check out some yard work at Woodstock’s Farm, try our hands at shelf building at the Whatcom Radio Museum, and round out the day with tree planting at Squalicum Creek park.

Of all three sites we visited, I gained a few little golden nuggets, points worth remembering.  At the first site, Woodstock’s Farm, I was truly amazed by the lengths that some folks will go through to volunteer.  A few of the participants at this location, Matt and I included, had the privilege of hiking about half a mile, walking about a quarter mile along a busy road, and scaling a barbed wire fence.  Through all of this, the volunteers were still happy, smiling, and ready to donate their time to make sure that Woodstock’s Farm was looking good.

Next it was onto the Whatcom Radio Museum.  The golden nugget at this site was the great diversity in the volunteers.   The first thing that struck me was the age of most of the volunteers at this sight, there were a lot of high school students.  Often times, high school aged people can be characterized as somewhat lazy.  But these teens were far from lazy.  The group of them were working hard, putting together shelves and mopping floors.  Another sign of diversity was the amount of volunteers whose first language was not English.  It was impressive to see these folks giving back to a community that they may have been new to.

Finally, we ended at Squalicum Creek Park.  The best part of this sight was this one little girl in particular.  This girl could not have been over five years old, but her age did not stop her from putting forth full effort.  There was nothing more heart- warming than watching this young gal attempt to keep her balance as she carried three fence posts that were at least a foot taller than she was. 

As a first time participant in Make a Difference Day, I learned a whole lot about the whole event.   Probably the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that it does not matter who you are or where you’re from, you can volunteer.  I saw folks of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, and genders working hard and giving back simply because they believed in helping out neighbors.  I hope that in reading this that you too will be encouraged to help give back to such a great community.