Archive for the 'Volunteers' Category

The nearest place to buy groceries in my small Vermont town is the Shelburne IGA, where Mark Lewis is front-end manager. That means he’s in charge of the colorful ladies who work the registers, and the diligent teens who bag groceries. Mark is pretty colorful himself, wearing shorts nearly year-round and always sporting a bright Hawaiian shirt.

A decade ago, he learned that a friend in the meat department had a developmentally disabled son. So Mark decided to do something for the Special Olympics – the folks who provide athletic competition for people with developmental challenges.

Mark only has a high school education, though. He’s not in a position to write a big check. That does not mean he is incapable of contributing financially — or of being a role model to humble the most philanthropic among us. On the contrary, he found exactly the way to do his part: the Penguin Plunge.

Every February the Vermont chapter of the Special Olympics (www.vtso.org) cuts through the frozen surface of Lake Champlain in Burlington, and the next morning people with pledges from friends and co-workers dive into the open water. Some years on the plunge day the air temperature is below zero, plus wind chill, so the first plungers have to break a film of refrozen ice. Some years it can be a balmy 30. Mark shows up, regardless.

But first, in December and January, Mark spends his lunch break going door to door asking people to support his plunge. The first year his sponsors gave $750. In 2010, Mark raised $15,896. His total from all his years of plunging is approaching $100,000. In fact, because he has been the biggest fund-raiser for six years running, Mark gets to break the overnight ice.

He shrugs off any praise. “It’s really not that bad. I’m in the tent beforehand, and I’m not in the water very long. My wife is the one with the hard part, waiting there in the wind all that time.”

Perhaps. But with the Vermont’s running of the 2010 Special Olympics coming in early June, Mark’s wintertime selflessness on behalf of a larger purpose makes the thrill of competition available to many more athletes.

“I’ve been blessed with four lovely children. But I think if you do something for somebody else, hopefully it will come back to you. It’s a great feeling to be able to do something for other people.”

 Spoken like a true Authentic Patriot.