Posted by Helen on: 07.03.2008 /
I was encouraged to read about Russell Jackson this morning on CNN. As CNN reports
in 1997 [Russell] gave up his career as an Alabama firefighter, moved in with friends and dug into his retirement account to start Kid One Transport, a nonprofit organization that provides rides for needy children in his home state.
In 1992 Russell responded to an emergency call for a toddler. They were unable to save the child’s life. This profoundly affected Russell.
To process his grief, Russell accepted the suggestion of a counselor to get involved in volunteer work. When he did, this is what he discovered
“When I drove into the community, it was a world of its own. It was a lot of homes that were deplorable. And that’s really the only way I can explain them,” he says.
Jackson says he was instantly ashamed by his own comfortable lifestyle.
“All it took was the one visit,” he recalls, “and I knew I really wanted to come out and work with these folks, hand in hand, and do whatever I could to help make life a little bit easier for them.”
When social workers told him about the neighborhood children who had no way to travel to and from appointments for chemotherapy, physical therapy and even for regular checkups, Jackson started driving them there himself.
Before long this one-man operation grew into a 13-van team covering 30 counties. Though Jackson recently stepped down from a daily role in the organization he founded, he says the best part of his work has been meeting the families and witnessing firsthand so many medical transformations.
There were some who learned to speak, another who learned to walk, and others who recovered from life-threatening illnesses — even when doctors were less than hopeful.
“I saw so many lives changed, so many determined children and parents who wanted to beat the odds that were against them,” Jackson says.
He says he believes that getting them to the care they needed made the difference.
Like I said, I’m encouraged to read stories like this about ordinary people who make a difference.
Comment by: Elaine
1 07/3/08 7:15 AM | Comment Link |thanks for sharing this one Helen. It is a good reminder that caring about one another can change the world. When we listen to our spirit and act, amazing things can happen.
I love how Russell listened to his heart and responded with action. Wow!
And how about the friends that let him live with them.
Comment by: Jim Henderson
2 07/3/08 7:33 AM | Comment Link |this is the power of “doing what’s doable” and “doing something small for God” (or self or satin)
Get this to Randy as an example of OA and to Rose as “the missional person”
Comment by: Randy
3 07/3/08 9:21 AM | Comment Link |Thanks, H. Great story. I think I’ll link to it over on the DE site.
And I would so nothing for satin. Silk is my fabric. Amen.
Comment by: Rose
4 07/3/08 9:22 AM | Comment Link |This is what I think most people can’t grasp. A friend of mine says it is simple to make the world a better place if you could stop daily and ask yourself “who do you see and what do you have.”
For all the hours of blogs and conversations of about what is “missional church” (which I believe need to happen) but just as important we need the stories of real people being missional in their real lives.
Thanks Helen
Comment by: Doable Evangelism » Ordinary Person Makes a Difference
5 07/3/08 9:38 AM | Comment Link |[...] Mildenhall, blogmaster for Off The Map and self-described “almost Atheist”, posted this over on her blog (Conversation at the Edge), so I’m of course stealing most of it and posting it here where it belongs. God told me it [...]
Comment by: Helen
6 07/3/08 9:49 AM | Comment Link |Thanks everyone for your comments.
Randy, I sure hope for your sake that satin or silk is something which can be a personal preference. That’s not always the case, as you know. 2+2 can’t equal 3 or 5 no matter how much you’d prefer that.
Thanks Rose - I think these stories are really important too. They show us the way.
Rose and Jim, is this what missional means? Does it simply mean ‘helping others’? I didn’t read all the syncroblogs about it a week or two. I still find it a confusing word that I only encounter in Christian circles.
Comment by: joe
7 07/4/08 2:40 AM | Comment Link |I’ve been having a think about why this example is so interesting. There are plenty of people that do things for charity, after all.
I think part of it is that there appeared to be no benefit to Russell Jackson. A lot of people work for charities because it is their income. Some others because they like the attention, like meeting people, or want personal development or are on some kind of power trip.
In my experience, it is relatively rare to find someone doing something for no other reason that it is the right thing to do. I wonder why that is.
Comment by: Elaine
8 07/4/08 6:30 AM | Comment Link |Joe - that is interesting that has been your experience. Could you tell me more about these experiences?
It doesn’t sound like Russell started out to grow an organization - but to do the one thing he could do - give the child a ride.
He showed up. Showing up is very important.
There are lots of people who ’show up’ everyday. We have “meals on wheels” - people who deliver food to the elderly - and do it every day without recognition because it is something they can do.
There are also those who check on an elderly neighbor, go out of there way to give someone a ride, help lead a scout troop, or or or…because they care.
In the US, charities could not run without their volunteers.
And yes, everyone gets something out of volunteering - even Russell. (if you didn’t read the full article - a counselor told him to volunteer his time to help him deal with his grief)
For most of us who volunteer - it is our passion to be of help to another by doing the one thing we can do…that motivates me.
AND yes there are those who seek “volunteer” positions to further their careers - but, I think they are the exception.
Comment by: Helen
9 07/4/08 7:11 AM | Comment Link |Joe, that struck me too - I browsed his website looking for an ‘agenda’ and I couldn’t find one beyond his desire to help needy children. That impressed me a lot.
Along with what Elaine said, I think he gets something out of it: he gets the pleasure of seeing children be healthier because of his help/his organization.
I don’t see that him getting that pleasure diminishes the help the children are getting so, to me it seems like a win-win situation.
Comment by: April Terry
10 07/8/08 8:48 AM | Comment Link |I saw an interview with Donald Trump once and he commented that once celebrities and the rich start getting involved in charities, they kind of get addicted to it.
He mentioned that it is because it feels good to help others. People used to comment a lot about Bill Gates and the fact that he donated a very small amount to charity. Partly in response I think, he started to get more involved in charity, and now, he is retiring from Microsoft with plans to work more in his charitable pursuits.
People who volunteer get a lot out of it. They feel good about who they are and what they are doing. I think it’s because they are putting things in their proper priority.