By Lindsay Eckert
WWKI
Donna’s eyes lit up with a pride that glowed as much as her lime green sweatshirt she wore that was stamped with the words “We Care” over her heart.
“I’ve volunteered here and for the telethon 31 years,” she said through eyes that have witnessed many moments that give We Care its heartbeat, its life.
First shying away from the microphone, Donna found her way to answering a couple questions on-air later in our Male Call broadcast from the We Care store. Humbleness in one’s work is a thriving virtue amongst the volunteers at We Care, they’re proud to be part of the organization and serve with a quiet smile.
“Oh, the funniest thing to ever happen?” Donna said with a laugh as she searched through her mental notes of 31 We Care telethons. “One time there was a married couple going through a divorce, the wife put all of their furniture for sale on the telethon. The husband was so confused when he saw all their on TV. That was an interesting night!”
Then, a moment which tugs at the very heartstrings of We Care; a memory that embraces the world of giving We Care creates for all generations.
“There was a 4-year-old boy who came in with a rocking horse once; you could tell he wanted to give it to We Care, but he was a little sad to give it away,” Donna said, her green eyes slowly starting to glisten with emotion. “He said to me, ‘Please find a good home for it.’ We Care is for all ages, it teaches everyone to give and I’ll never forget that little boy wanting to give.”
Age is merely a number in the heart of givers who bridge generations to give items they cherish for a cause better than their own. I was fortunate enough to watch it from behind a microphone – and a pen and notepad. To witness a story with every item donated.
A volunteer motioned me over to read a donation card before telling me a little about the lady who refers to herself simply as “The Blanket Lady”, her only description of herself on the card is: “93 years young.” Her daughter quietly dropped a bag of homemade blankets off before I got the chance to talk to her. Inside the clear bag, blankets created with care and motivated by the heart of We Care were folded neatly and represented a woman who truly was “93 years young” and in touch with today’s trends – there was even a “Duck Dynasty” themed blanket, young indeed.
Then, I saw a Kokomo school bus pull up and kids from the school’s special education program walk out with beaming smiles. I gripped my microphone a little tighter as their teacher carried a box of bird houses the students had made and wanted to donate to the telethon.
One student sang a few notes of his favorite Christmas tune as his eyes sparkled with excitement and the Santa hat he wore matched his enthusiasm for the season.
Another student said he painted his birdhouse orange because it was his favorite color.
And another student, Jason, said “Putting the birdhouses together was tricky, but it was fun.”
Jason meant those words so much, he meant the work he did to build the birdhouse and he felt the magic of We Care, the value of doing something “tricky” and completing it for the heart of something special.
I’ve been warned time and time again to have tissues ready, that the stories I’ll witness during We Care will shake my core, the people I’ll meet will give me an infinite belief that humanity truly has a good soul, that a heart of pureness – one that merely gives to give – is not just rare, it’s populous and touches all the corners that make We Care what it is.
I saw all of that during our ongoing week at the We Care store, I felt it as people hugged me for a few seconds longer than most, when those who give looked me in the eye and I could see the heart of We Care when I looked back at them.
