Late last summer, one of our volunteers found a quote about volunteering: “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.”
Tomorrow starts National Volunteer Week, a week dedicated to all the volunteers who are making things happen. While it is cliché to say “volunteers are the heart of our organization” or “we couldn’t do it without you,” I cannot say it enough because it is true.
Main Street Monroe is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2020 as a nonprofit organization. Per the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Main Street Monroe volunteers donated just over $19,000 worth of time last year. Over the entire lifetime of Main Street as an organization in Monroe, that total grows to nearly $290,000. Last year there were upwards of 100 people making everything happen.
Canada actually led the way by celebrating National Volunteer Week in 1943 as a way to help recognize the contributions of women on the Home Front during World War II. The April week of celebration, which will conclude on the 25th, seems even more important this year. National Volunteer Week debuted in the U.S. in 1974, but volunteerism has been a driving force in the strength and growth of our communities since the beginning of communities. I cannot think that is any truer than in Monroe.
The people who volunteer for Main Street are diverse: some give hours per week, other hours per year; some are young, some are old; some are highly educated; some bring specific skillsets that are definitely needed for an organization that only has one paid staff person. The projects are varied: from graphic design, to organizing a parade to helping set up the farmers market and plant flowers, getting their hands dirty during downtown clean up days, to writing grants and coordinating wines and sponsors for our annual wine walk. The work and people may not immediately seem to overlap, but together these volunteers weave together their skills, time, and ideas to “vote” every day to make things happen, make Main Street what it is, and make Monroe better.
As of now, we are not entirely sure what our summer calendar will look like. Normally, there are 30 event days Main Street hosts, plus 52 outdoor farmers markets; and volunteers are at every one of them. During this unprecedented time, these volunteers are still giving their time; whether it’s to help come up with possible alternatives to our summer schedule or helping make masks, our gift certificate promotion, or something else.
It often seems like a difficult task to properly thank volunteers. There are too many to thank in this column. And in an ironic twist, one surefire way to know we have amazing volunteers who are committed, is that most of us never have to think about gates being set up for Concerts on the Square, who arranges cars and drivers for participants in a parade, or who is sitting on boards to help set and implement policy.
My sincere thanks to everyone who volunteers, no matter the organization, for helping make Monroe the kind of community we want to live in.
For those interested in finding out more about how to volunteer for Main Street, visit mainstreetmonroe.org or contact Jordan directly at 608-328-4023.
— Jordan Nordby is the executive director for Main Street Monroe. He can be reached at MonroeMainStreet@tds.net.
