At one time there was a sign prominently displayed upon entry into North Battleford from the south on Highway 4 that proclaimed “Community of Volunteers.”
That sign always made me feel inadequate. In the past, I served on the board of the co-operative day care in Battleford and was chair of the Battleford local school board when the decision to close the junior high schools had to be sold to the public, but those two forays into community service are long in the past. My children are now in their late 20s and early 30s, one with children of her own in school.
My most recent attempt at community service was a stint in jail at the North Battleford animal shelter in a bid to raise funds for a new facility. There is no way to gauge my success in that venture, but I hope I added a few dollars to the cause.
So no, I can’t really be counted among those who actively get out to serve the community.
Many years ago I did latch onto a “behind the scenes” way to contribute, however.
My family hatched the inspired notion to host a garage sale on April Fool’s Day, getting a jump on the used goods shopping season and turning unwanted items into cash at the same time.
It went over like gang busters. We had people banging on the garage door well prior to the 8 a.m. opening time and the kid stuff and other items we no longer wanted or needed flew out the door.
Friends joined in the venture, bringing over their castoffs and ending the day with their own fistful of cash.
What a great idea. Let’s do it again next year. So we did. But the following year my pal was out of town working and I think my husband was farming, so my pal’s husband and I were left to do most of the work and to mind the store for the day. Since we’d sold most of the juicy stuff the previous year, the second venture was far less lucrative.
At the end of the day my friend and I made a pinkie swear: “never again.” And we didn’t, but there was still the problem of repurposing the “stuff” in our lives.
We latched onto the notion of allowing others to benefit from our need to move items along. And now the season is upon us where we give back to our community in our small way.
This Saturday the Battlefords Historic Lions will host their annual community garage sale at the Battleford Arena. For the many years since swearing off garage sales, I’ve taken items to donate to the Lions’ table at the sale. Sometimes this is a whole truckbox full, sometimes just a small box.
I’ve also contributed to the Battlefords Humane Society this way, as well as the Western Development Museum.
It’s not traditional volunteerism, but it’s one small way to contribute.
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