Kettles

I'm pretty sure I post about this regularly, but hey, it's always a good topic.

I can also reassure people that for me nothing says Christmas quite like kettles. I always enjoy my time standing on kettles as I watch people go by. Also, I find that no matter where I'm on kettles I will always run into someone I know and that gives a lovely opportunity for a chat. Now, I know almost everyone says this, but my favourite donors are the little children and the teenagers. In all of this though, I LIVE for the stories people tell me. Stories of how we may have helped them in the past, or their volunteer experiences and so on. Today was a great one - a young boy donated the money he had just received from the tooth fairy - how great is that.

You also have some great conversations on kettles...maybe you're in a store and someone is shopping for a party they are going to have, or, if you're me these days, you're that person everyone is wanting to meet and they come over to introduce themselves. It's a wonderful way to find the pulse of the town and get to know people.

Kettle time is also good thinking time and today I was thinking about all the wonderful people I met on my two winter assignments and how valuable those experiences were for me then and even more so now. I also had a good chuckle remembering some kettle experiences of mine....like the time I wondered why the mall was on an angle, only to realize I was so tired by the end of the term I had started to lean to the side and was in danger of falling over.

What a great time and what a great way to volunteer - have you thought of volunteering?