Sharefest. Why Do They Serve?

By Bob L. — Communications Team

Sharefest. Why do they serve?

It’s a tough question to get answers to when the Sharefest volunteers show up, work hard, and then head on home or back to work. There’s not a lot of time for chatting.

As part of the video reporting team that wanders around looking for volunteers to interview on the spur of the moment, I got to hear volunteer’s quick answers. And so many of them say, “I just want to give back.” They come from all over, so it’s not like they all got together and came up with the answer they thought I wanted to hear. No, they came up with that common answer all on their own. They seem to get so much more out of Sharefest than they think they are giving. It’s the whole being “more blessed to give than to receive” thing.

I have a friend who served each day as a team leader. When I asked her why she did it, her face brightened up and I could see her energy rising. Besides wanting to give back, she had plenty of other reasons, too. When I saw her at church, I asked if I could give her a call to find out a little more. Here’s part of what she said…

I like doing things for people that can’t always give back to me. I live in Rockford; I love Rockford, and its fun to be able to go downtown to beautify an area of the city knowing that I’m doing it for the Lord and not for my own satisfaction. I know the city of Rockford will never come back to me and say ‘Oh thank you, that’s a job well done.’ But for me, I did it for the Lord and that is what makes it all worthwhile for me.

Tell us what it was like working with your team?

Oh my, they were amazing—all of them—and they came from every background, all walks of life, and people really put their heart and soul into it. It was really fun, like when it was raining, and it was muddy, some of the people were grumbling a little bit. But we made it really fun and soon the people were laughing. Later we were over near the Park District building, and we started planting. When the landscaper came by he told us we were planting in the wrong area. Three men on our team said, “No problem, we’ll dig them up and move them.” They worked hard, the ground was hard, and afterwards I said, ‘that was really nice of you,’ and they said, “that’s okay, we love doing stuff like this.” I asked where they were from and they said Byron. I said, so you came up to work in Rockford and you’re from Byron? They said, “Yeah, we just like being part of something that’s going to benefit a community.”

Then there was a couple from Chemung, a doctor and his wife. They read about Sharefest in the paper, hired a baby sitter, and came to Rockford to serve. I think that’s really something.

Some people asked me, “Do you go to Heartland?” I told them yes and they said, “so your church is the one that started all this. We think it’s wonderful and that’s why we don’t mind coming out and helping.”

People who want to make a difference, no matter how small, have it in their heart and just get up and do it.

How is it being a team leader versus serving a shift or two?

I felt that I became part of the project, whereas when I volunteered for a shift, I was just doing things in certain areas. By being a team leader, I was able to see the beginning, the middle and the end and it was just so much fun. Plus the camaraderie among the team… I met people I didn’t even know went to Heartland and we’ve become friends now. So I was able to meet new people. But I like the fact that you start, you see the middle and you get to see the end and it’s so rewarding.

Do you think you’ll continue as a team leader in future Sharefest projects?

Oh yeah, just because it’s fun and rewarding to be a part of building up our community and putting Rockford back on the map.

Our conversation continued for quite a while. She told me about people who live in the Luther center coming up to her team and thanking them for making their part of the city so beautiful. Others who have been at City Market have been so impressed by the planters and how clean the city is. It goes on and on. As I mentioned, most people I spoke with say they serve because they want to give back. But when you get to spend a little time with them, you see there’s so much more to it.

There were more than a thousand who volunteered so try it. Ask someone why they did it. You’ll probably do it next year, too.