Minnesota (and Everywhere Else) Nice

Minnesota nice. That’s like a thing. Of all the places Joe and I could have chosen to move to, a nice place is deeply appreciated. The people I’ve been volunteering with at the RiverWorks Thrift Store are nice. That would be expected. I think people who volunteer are by their very nature nice. I have friends that are so busy they do not have time to formally volunteer. Still, they are the ones taking care of a family member(s) without pay – another form of volunteering.

Growing up, my family was both on the receiving and the giving end of other people’s kindnesses. I have appreciated the opportunities to volunteer over the years. It is a wonderful way to meet people with the same sense of civic duty and interests. My volunteer stints have included working events with Soroptimists of Woodland, serving on the Yolo County Arts Board and the Yolo County Grand Jury, classroom volunteering while the kids were in school, and cookie mom while Megan was in Girl Scouts.

It pleases me to see my daughter involved in volunteering. Megan is a co-leader of Charlotte’s Brownie troop, the troop cookie mom for the third year in a row, and she volunteers at the council level with Fall product sales and as a co-chair of cookie sales. As a teenager, Megan volunteered at the Yolo County Animal Shelter and at Homeward Bound (Golden Retriever rescue) and coached a girls soccer team one season.

I am not writing this for kudos. I really would like to encourage people to volunteer when and where they can. Oddly enough, volunteering has improved my life by introducing me to the most amazing people. People I would never have met by sitting at home, exhausted after a day of work. I’ve also gained a better understanding of how county and city governments worked in California. I’ve been exposed to talented people from all walks of life and watched a child during an aha moment of learning.

I’ve heard people say, “It doesn’t pay to be nice.” That is simply not true. I run from people with that attitude. The payback of being nice is in feeling connected to the universe and understanding that individuals can make a difference in the lives of others.