This morning I dropped by BonaResponds.org just to see what they have been up to over the past several months since I last visited their site, thinking I should do something nice for someone.  As it turns out, the volunteers that make up this group, predominately students from St. Bonaventure University, have been keeping busy over the winter months.   For those of you not familiar with the group, its a volunteer service organization led by Dr. Jim Mahar, who organize both local and national service days, during which they help out people in need.   Their efforts have included helping victims in Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina, Enterprise, AL after a tornado, and Buffalo, NY following some severe weather.  Additionally, they host multiple local services weekends around the region where they help out with smaller scale projects.   In fairness and full disclosure, I'm a Bonaventure grad, and Jim was one the professors in my MBA program.  

 

I was surprised to learn that the group has collected hundreds of crutches, canes and walkers to be sent to Haiti, and has gone so far as to begin production of make-shift crutches from donated materials...   I'm not sure what it was about this particular effort that struck me, but I thought to myself, "This is something I can help with.  This is something I can do."

 

I scooted off to the local Goodwill, where after a bit of searching, a helpful attendant appeared from a back room with an armful of crutches and canes.  After a bit of haggling over the price of a walker they had found, the collection was jostling around in the back of my car.  Excitedly, I stopped at the Hospital Auxiliary Resale shop to see what they had to offer and found another 3 sets...   Within a half hour and for around $25 I had collected 8 pairs of crutches, 3 canes, and a walker.  Amazing!!!!

The story doesn't end there though...   It so happens that I was scheduled to attend a lunch meeting at CARE for Children, where I serve on an advisory committee.   After telling them what I had been up to, they confessed to the existence of a "supply room" within which they believed there to be multiple additional sets of crutches for donation.   Five simple words, "Do you have any crutches?" likely resulted in another donation.  I can't wait to see what they come up with... 

 

Admittedly and ashamedly, this is probably the first real effort I've put into helping others in quite some time.  Sure I buy the occasional raffle ticket for a benefit, but as I said to Jim Mahar in an email reporting my progress, "I'm amazed at what a little time and a couple of bucks could accomplish."   A few inquiries and a gallon of gas buzzing around town will result in over a dozen people being helped.  Please visit bonareponds.org, tell someone else about them, and consider donating to their cause...

-Nate