"All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don't discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others."
- Danny Thomas.

In collaborating with Gab Laurence and Kate Dugas (and everyone else who got involved) to collect and distribute clothing to Vancouver's homeless community this winter (see http://sparethecold.org/), I realized some great things about volunteering and about myself.

What started out as a single email from Kate on Nov 27, 2006 entitled 'Got Hats?' became a small media frenzy, a changeeverything.ca thread, a poster, a web site and, finally, 102 gift backpacks in time for Christmas... less than one month later! It was truly an inspiring sequence of events to witness.

With love as motivation, volunteering wasn't a struggle as I had been conditioned to expect. It actually felt wonderful! Even though I performed the same kinds of tasks I tackle every day to earn my pay cheque (ie. Web/Graphic design in this case), I felt that I was actually able to make a substancial difference in many people's lives, and help them heal. Something that I seldom get to feel with my regular clients! I also learned to drop many personal prejudices and better understand the plight of less fortunate people who live and work on our city's streets.

I am very thankful that this opportunity came my way. I knew I wanted to do *something*, but just wasn't sure where to best direct my energy. I see this experience as only the beginning of what is possible in my life and in the lives of others who make the time to be active in their community. If you are eager to learn where you could be of service, I would suggest visiting sites like http://www.govolunteer.ca/ to browse for organizations that need your help. Alternatively, contact your favourite organization to ask if they could use you. Or, why not spearhead your own strategy?! Let me know about what you have planned and Retrix can provide web space for your initiative, too.

Feel free to post any other relevant resources here as you see fit.

Thanks for lending your ear! Kate's original email is below for posterity :)

:)

Sincerely,
Jamie Lubiner
http://retrix.com/
Blog: http://retrixhosting.blogspot.com/