Volunteers are the backbone of any community that is thriving and progressing. I look around at the projects that West Frankfort has taken on in the last few years and I am simply amazed. Young and old, skilled and unskilled, business and churches have come together to accomplish projects not for themselves but for others.
Hurricane Relief: A meeting was announced to find ways that West Frankfort could help the victims of Katrina. About 50 individuals representing the city government, local churches, local businesses, high school students and civic organizations like Lions, Kiwanis and Rotary all showed up to share ideas. From that meeting a task force was formed and that task force found a community in Mississippi named McHenry that needed a place to house volunteer workers that were coming to their community to help them rebuild. It was decided to purchase a mobile home and renovate it to fit the need of McHenry. The High School Vocation class began working on the trailer almost immediately and they stripped the home and got it ready for work. They also built walls for a new bedroom and did some painting on the trailer and some repairs outside. Other volunteers put in 2 new bathrooms, a new kitchen, new carpet and vinyl floors. Churches and business contributed money and items for the trailer. Soon, the trailer was deemed completed and was transported to McHenry where it is now serving as a shelter for volunteers working in that area to rebuild McHenry.
Women’s Shelter: The Roan’s Women’s Shelter is a work in progress that has been staffed almost exclusively with volunteers that have been remodeling a former nursing home to prepare for the housing of abused mothers and children from our area. This is a place where mothers can come and their children will be able to stay with them while they are being treated and cared for. This shelter is unique for Southern Illinois and is a work of love for many of the volunteers who have given up many of their weekends to toil for women and children they may never meet but have grown to love. It will be a safe haven for many women and children who without it would have no place to go. What an opportunity for a community to reach out to others in need.
Landscaping: A couple of years ago West Frankfort had an opportunity to take advantage of a grant to beautify our interstate exchange. Money was there for the purchase of flowers and trees and landscaping rocks to make our exit a place of beauty. Countless volunteers spent a Saturday transplanting flowers and trees on our exchange and many have spent Saturdays since then watering and cultivating those plants. What a sight they are when those flowers come into bloom in the spring. It has become a source of pride for West Frankfort and for those who participated in creating it.
Clean-up Campaign: Every spring for the last four years West Frankfort has had a clean-up day that is set by the no-name committee that organizes it. Last year over 300 volunteers spent most of a Saturday walking the town picking up paper and trash, placing them in trash bags and placing those bags in designated areas for the West Frankfort Street Department to pick them up. The volunteers range in age from 3 years old up to 80 years old. It is a nasty job but the volunteers enjoy the sense of accomplishment and they enjoy each other on that day. There are probably more school children involved in this clean-up than any other group. It is a project that hopefully will teach a generation the value of conservation and the satisfaction of keeping a clean surrounding for themselves and their children.
One of the most satisfying aspects of all these projects is that in every one there are children from grade school up to high school who have been involved and have actively participated in these projects because they felt a part of not only the community but the project. It is gratifying to see our children getting involved and being part of the community in a very positive way.
WF Recreation Association: West Frankfort has one of the nicest parks in Southern Illinois. One of the organizations that is most responsible for it is the West Frankfort Recreation Association. They are a group of volunteers that began with the goal of making sure that every child that wanted to play baseball in West Frankfort would have an opportunity to do that every summer. They have had fund raisers and sponsored the summer baseball program at the park for over forty years. The baseball diamonds are lighted because the Recreation Association worked with Amerencips and raised the money to make it happen. The baseball fields are there because the association built them. The dugouts are there because they bought the material and volunteers erected them. This organization operates today still raising money and providing equipment and leadership to the summer programs at the park. What an impact this association has had on children who have grown up in West Frankfort. What a legacy they leave behind as volunteers and mentors. Over 600 children participate in the little league program at the West Frankfort Park every summer and those children will grow up knowing that there are so many in the community that donate their time and talents to make sure they have a place to play and adults to supervise and make sure it is a safe and rewarding experience for every child.
I feel confident that volunteers will continue to lead the way in the revitalization of West Frankfort in the days and years to come. It is easy to give up and be apathetic; it is so much more satisfying to do something about it. One small step is sometimes all that is needed to turn things around.
Steve Cook is Director of the West Frankfort Business Incubator.
