Cause #10 – Discovery Museum

Event Date: December 4, 2010

It was a brisk, foggy morning. I rolled out of bed and hustled to get dressed to make it to the Discovery Museum by 8:30. I made it out to the car at the absolute last moment I could in order to make it in time, and felt a sense of relief that I’d make it on time this morning.

I turned the key in the ignition, and…nothing. Turned again. Nothing. Repeat this process about five more times over the next five minutes, same result.

Great.

By now, my heart was racing. Was a malfunctioning car going to keep me from volunteering today? I tried one more time, and I think Mom had a little something to do with the fact that the car fired right up!

I didn’t have any time to thank her then. I was already late so I had to focus on getting to my destination.

I arrived at Discovery Museum and headed into the main lobby. Director of Public Programs Susan Douglas greeted me outside the door with a smile. I saw a familiar face, Megan, who had joined me at Cause #1 of 20 Causes, 20 Days.

For this volunteer opportunity, she definitely played the role of champion. She had recruited two friends to join us volunteering today. Meredith and Alissa introduced themselves, and it turns out they were all friends or friends of friends from college, and they were all sorority girls. Thanks Megan!

Susan told us what we would be helping out with today. They had been there for a few minutes before I had arrived, and Susan told them they’d be working with mulch on this day.

One of girls had to ask what mulch was. All of them gave me a dirty look when I arrived. I had told them we’d be working outside, but I didn’t give them all the specific details.

On a side note, that’s been a key element of this project. As people have signed up to volunteer with me, I choose to give them just enough information to be ready to volunteer, but I want them to go into the volunteer experience as open books. The point of volunteering is to give yourself up in the name of helping a good cause – to help that cause with anything they need.

We grabbed our pitchforks, shovels, and wheelbarrows and set out to help disperse the piles of bark chips and mulch that had been piled on the southwest corner of the property.

The girls seemed to still be a bit irritated that they were called upon to do landscaping. I tried to lighten the mood with some dumb jokes, and despite the fact that they were laughing at me as opposed to with me.

I think it helped, because they began to talk and laugh more as we spread that mulch. I took off to fill a wheelbarrow and by the time I got back, their laughing and conversation told me that they had fully accepted and embraced today’s activity.

It was cool to see that transformation. Looking a bit bigger-picture, that is the true feeling of reward that comes from volunteering. Giving yourself up for a greater cause. Today’s event exemplified that to a tee.

We moved to another area and applied more mulch, but frankly there aren’t many more details to share about the landscaping. The real story is in the fact people can be skeptical about volunteering at the beginning. It’s natural to feel that way. But all it takes is just doing it. Getting out there with an open mind. You’ll quickly forget any fears you had and those fears will be replaced with feelings of accomplishment and gratification.

Alissa said “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard we would be helping with the landscaping. I was just hoping that once I got there I’d be able to give it my all to help any way I could because I have absolutely no experience with landscaping!!”

Megan added “I will remember everyone learning what mulch was! I will also remember how even the girliest of girls can spend a Saturday morning smiling and laughing while “mulching;” knowing it’s for a good cause.”

Once we were done with the landscaping and “mulching,” we went inside to take a quick tour of the museum. On one side was the nature side, with Bella the (large) rabbit, a porcupine, a huge frog, and many other animals. On the other side, there was a space exhibit, a “Bone Zone” to educate about human anatomy, among many other fun things.

The Discovery Museum is always looking for volunteers. Ruby is the volunteer coordinator and her contact information is below. Please take some time to volunteer with them, or at least visit the museum.

Thank you to Susan, Ruby, and the Discovery Museum for having us out there on a Saturday morning, and for helping us learn that it’s okay to come out of our comfort zones every now and then.

Discovery Museum

Volunteer Information

916-808-3942

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