Wooster YMCA
Flexibility is a very important key when volunteering to serve others. SAL’s University of Akron Chapter experienced this first-hand when a recent Special Olympics event for which they had signed up to serve was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances just as they had arrived. However, since another event was being held at the same location, SAL members stepped up to help instead of letting their trip go to waste. They ended up being timers for a swim meet and were each given a stopwatch and broke down into pairs. Members timed and recorded the details from each event. The officials then collected these score sheets to use to create an average score for the swimmers.
Chapter President Christina White lauded her team’s attitude: “I personally was very proud of our members during this event. There was a real wrench thrown into the original plan when Special Olympics was canceled. But, they stepped up and truly embodied what I believe this organization stands for. They became leaders in the community; refusing to make the trip a waste. They volunteered to do something they were not comfortable with, having no prior knowledge of swimming events and timing of them, yet they came out ahead and learned something in the process. It could not have been a more successful ‘canceled’ volunteer event in my opinion, and the Wooster YMCA officials were very helpful and agreeable to work with in the process!”
To learn more about the University of Akron Chapter, click here.
