Written by Kathy Fritz
There are so many reasons that I volunteer at the Parent Talk Sale. I get to shop early, have some time away from my kids, master the tagging gun, but my favorite part of volunteering is meeting people.
Whether I’m tagging toys or clothes, I love settling down into the shift, finding out the other volunteers’ names, and going through “the list.” You know the one I mean: how many kids do you have? How old are they? Where do you live? What do you do for work outside of the home? How much sleep are you getting these days? What are you doing about the terrible 2s (or 3s or 4s)? I’m always pleasantly surprised at the number of “Me too!” moments these simple questions produce. After tagging for two hours, the five of us are all friends on Facebook, planning on finding that great Pinterest pin Shelley raved about, and excited to go home to try that parenting technique Monique said worked great for her.
Most volunteers are mothers, but not all. I love chatting with the dads who are there for the heavy lifting. They are so earnest (and probably a little proud) about using their muscles to help. In between moving things, Sean chats about Skylar’s recent funny phrase, and I find out Dave is married to Sophie, and she and I were in Great Beginnings at Isis together. I enjoy making connections with someone’s other half.
If you’ve volunteered for the Sale before, you already know the neat connections you can make with other volunteers. If you’ve never taken the plunge, sign up for a shift, and ready yourself for a lovely two hours away from your children when you get to shop early, but most importantly, when you’ll make some wonderful and maybe lifelong connections. I hope to see you Sale weekend!
Want to get involved? Here are some shifts still opening for Sale weekend:
Friday, May 3rd: 3 pm to 5 pm (2 available shifts)
Saturday, May 4th: 9 am to 11 am (7 available shifts)
11 am to 1 pm (5 available shifts)
12 pm to 2 pm (8 available shifts)
1 pm to 3:30 pm (10 available shifts)
If you would like to register for a 2-hour shift, please check out the Volunteer Sign-Up Genius.
We look forward to volunteering, shopping, and seeing you at the Sale on Saturday, May 4th. Thank you!
Yes! My favorite moment is when I see a friend or her spouse walking through the doors to start his/her shift--it's such a reminder that we're part of an amazing, tight-knit community here.
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