As a retired school social worker living in Brunswick, I often joke that I’ve not truly retired because I volunteer at The Gathering Place, a welcoming day center for unhoused, at-risk folks — people seeking community — across the parking lot from Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program food bank in downtown Brunswick. It is a place that creates and maintains a culture of respect where dignity is preserved.

“What do you do there?” friends often ask. Denise, a former special education teacher, and I run the food counter Friday afternoons. My wife, Patsy, a former kindergarten teacher, is there with either Joyce, Dana or Barbara in the morning. We serve coffee and snacks. We sort out donations of cold-weather clothing, toiletries and such. But mostly, as we’ve come to know the guests, we listen, laugh, and share stories.

Listening is big. That’s about it, really. Unless you love it so much you want to do more — and there’s always so much more to do. For instance, there’s a schedule for volunteers who pick up food from two of our nearby Rusty’s Convenience Stores every weekday. Or there’s a group working on our annual golf tournament benefit. We have a committee that generates and reviews potential programs for our guests. There’s a facilities committee that oversees the physical needs of our space.

“Why do you give your time there?” they ask. I don’t know, perhaps because I feel my work is unfinished? I worked in the Portland schools for so long that at the end of my career I was seeing the grandchildren of kids I started with in the 80s. As teachers and support staff we worked so hard with so many kids living in homes where the resources were limited or absent. We knew their lives were likely going to be desperately rough. But, at The Gathering Place, I can be a presence, a smile they can count on, an ear that can listen, or a guide to resources. Those students I worked with grew up. I can still help them.

I still find all my other retirement dreams playing out. I get to travel, pursue my hobbies, and enjoy the grandchildren. Denise and her husband, Gerry, are moving out of state soon. Who will come to share my shift with me? I’ve met so many friends here, volunteers and guests.

“April is National Volunteer Month!” says Jenny Gaghan, TGP Volunteer Services Coordinator. “It is dedicated to honoring all the special people who give time out of their busy lives to give back to their community, people in need, and other worthy causes. It celebrates the influence that volunteers have on others and inspires active volunteerism for generations to come.”

“I volunteer because I want to help our guests.” says Chick Carroll. “Well, what I learned was that our guests also helped me, and taught me about how to bear up, with grace, under the debilitating strains of loneliness, illness, poverty, and homelessness. What I learned was that admiration, often tinged with love, crept into the equation. An honest desire to treat others as we would like to be treated, and out of that, out of respecting our guests’ dignity, closer relationships developed, closer than any of us would have expected.”

Here at The Gathering Place, we are grateful for the 45 plus volunteers who commit to over 200 hours of volunteer work throughout the week. Our volunteers are the heart of TGP, helping others in a selfless way. The support they provide for our guests at TGP is invaluable. Our volunteers offer a ray of hope and sunshine! Come join us. We need you and you need us. For information on volunteer opportunities contact, Jenny Gaghan – Volunteer Services Coordinator, (207) 729 0288

Phil Studwell is a volunteer and board member at The Gathering Place, a day center for unhoused and at-risk people located in Brunswick.