We all create ripples in
life. If we smile at someone, they might smile at the next person they see. If
we grumble at someone, they will probably grumble at the next person they
encounter.
Sometimes those ripples grow
in ways that you never imagine.
I’m not a super-volunteer, I
don’t join every organization and show up for every project in town. But I like
to think that I make ripples with impact.
For the last several years I’ve
volunteered with an organization called FIRST. (I mentioned it in a post
earlier this week.) To start with my volunteer
work was just on the local level, doing what I could to help the teams that my
sons were on. It was easy, and seemed to
help the adults in charge.
Then two years ago I stepped
up and volunteered at a regional event where our team was not competing. In a
stroke of synchronicity, other local volunteers started doing the same
thing. What we didn’t realize at the
time was that our student team members were watching us and learning to
volunteer and help.
FIRST principles include
Gracious Professionalism, and coopertition, which are all about helping others
and being respectful.
By the time we got to competition
last year, our team, Sir Lancer Bots, had taken the concept of coopertition to
a higher level. They set a goal to help
as many other teams as possible. Additional tools were packed, more supplies
were put in place and the attitude of “we’re here to help” was prevalent.
Yes, we were going to be competing
against the teams we were determined to help if they needed it.
At the center of this effort was my son. My
son whose career aspirations had evolved from considering becoming a priest to
entering the United States Marine Corps, because he wanted to serve and give
back.
He, along with others on our
team, helped more than half the other teams that weekend. And it made an
impact. At a summer robotics workshop, as we sat down at a table with members
of another team, one of their members spoke right up “You guys fixed us at
Duluth last year. It was awesome.”
This week, an article was
published on a major suppliers / sponsors website with the story of a team that
experienced a significant setback and was able to continue at competition due
to the efforts of Sir Lancer Bots. The article
ends with an observation from the other team. “Our goal isn’t to win this year.
We want to be the team that can help others. We want to be like Sir Lancer
Bots.”
And people don’t understand
why I volunteer so much. It’s because of ripples that we make.
This post is Day 6 in the Winnie Kao / Seth Godin #YourTurnChallenge