5:00 am and the alarm sounds. This is
my day off; my alarm can’t be going off that early. When I first awoke that
morning I was so tired my eyes could hardly open. I was having a pity party in my head over a
family issue, it was cold outside, and I did not want to get up. Then I looked
over at the Christmas presents wrapped so nicely under our beautiful Christmas
Tree. I said to myself, time to get up.
I have so much and I am able to give so much to my family, now I must give to
my community. The reason for this early morning, my family and I had signed up
to help hand out food and toys for the Modesto Salvation Army. Little did any us know what an inspiring day
we were about to have.
I have performed thousands of volunteer hours in my life, so has my wife. Nothing could prepare us for what we encountered on Saturday December 22, 2012. The Salvation Army Christmas Distribution provides holiday meals and toys for thousands of valley residents in need. A new friend of Sandy and I, Melissa Cohoon-Neece told us about the toy collection and distribution day and invited us to attend. Sandy and I have both been looking for a volunteer opportunity to take our son Kyler to and this looked like the perfect chance.
At 6:00am we pulled up to the distribution center on Mariposa Avenue in
Modesto. It was about 38 degrees outside and the wind nearly lifted me off my
feet as I got out of my truck. The first thing I saw that took my breath away
was hundreds of needy people lined up in their vehicles and on foot two hours
before the event started all waiting for help. As my family and I continued to walk up to the
building were a bit nervous not knowing what to expect.
As soon as we arrived we saw one of my son’s
baseball teammates and family there and that provided some comfort as we waited
for instruction on what we would be doing. At about 7:30am we received some instructions
from Salvation Army volunteers and staff and concluded the orientation with a
story of service and prayer from Captain Pugh. Just days earlier the Salavation Army had been short nearly 1,500 toys. In two days that recieved donations covering those 1,500 families. So manny people form the area stepped up to make the Salvation Army goal a reality. My mother and father and law braved the weather the day before and went and and bought toys along with many others. 
Sandy and Kyler volunteered to hand out
presents to the families, and despite my shoulder killing me I volunteered to
carry items out to people’s cars. I made this decision simply because I felt
the organization could benefit from my physical size and strength, I did not
choose this job because I was dying to do it. I simply believe when you
volunteer it is important to give your best to what you are doing, even if your
shoulder hurts. Little did I know what a great decision this would be.
When I dressed that morning I did not even consider the fact it would rain. I
knew it would be cold and I knew I warm up quick so I dressed for that, boots,
jeans, long sleeve shirt, and an outdoor vest. When we arrived there was no rain, that would
not last.
The first family I helped was a family
of 8. The shopping cart I pushed first
had toys added to it, then two boxes of canned food, then milk and eggs,
followed by chicken, bread, and potatoes. Once the basket was filled it was my
job to take the food by cart to the vehicle of the person I was helping. When I walked out of the warehouse and the
outside world hit me in the face it was raining, hard. I helped the woman to
her car which was located about a half mile away. We chatted the whole
way. Her story made me hardly feel the
rain. She told me of how the family was struggling with her husband passing
away and her trying to find a job. All I
kept thinking of is how much I wish I could swoop up her whole family and help
them. We arrived at her car and she tried to help unload and I would not let
her. When I finished loading everything into her vehicle she felt bad because
the vehicle was parked in mud and my boots and bottom of my jeans were covered
in mud. I told her no worries. She said Merry Christmas and God Bless You. I
told her, while fighting back tears, to keep believing in the good in the
world, keep her faith and things will get better. I then hugged her and battled
the rain as I headed back to help the next person. 
As I helped family after the family many of the stories were similar. These were people who were facing life’s
challenges and who had not given up, but simply needed a helping hand and
someone to care. After about ten trips I
helped a family whose son wanted baseball stuff. As I loaded the presents into the cart a
baseball bat popped out. I began to get
really choked up. After helping the family to their car I began to cry on the
way back. To me there is nothing purer
than a child and the game of baseball. This
family had made me think of my son and it made me very emotional. Another woman I helped to her car hit me hard
emotionally. As I opened the side door
to her van I was taken back by four little children. The van was covered with
blankets, and a makeshift kitchen was set up in the tiny corner. This family
was living in the van. The husband had
lost his job and the family had lost their house. They felt ashamed and I felt
for them. All I could do was hug both of
them and tell them there are people who care. I told them many of us, me
included are one paycheck away from being in the same position and not everyone
has someone to bail them out. That was another hard vehicle. One woman simply
broke my heart as I helped her out. 
While others had battled the weather in their vehicles this woman had not. She
spoke almost no English so communicating was tough. When we got outside I asked
her where her vehicle was and she said here, pointing to where she was
standing. I stood for a couple of
seconds confused thinking we were waiting for someone to pull up in a vehicle,
but then she said basket, pointing to the basket she was pulling. She had no
car and no one to help her. She wanted me to load everything on to this very
frail and old basket. Only the box of food fit, but I stacked everything on and
we tied it down. Then she said walking and started to walk away. As she walked
through the overpowering rain, potholes, and mud, I was simply numb. To need so
bad you would endure such conditions was so amazing to me and made me think how
lucky I am. 
Along the way I bumped into about 9 students of mine from one of the programs I
coordinate for single parents. I was really enjoying talking to all the people.
They were so thankful and all I was doing was carrying some stuff for them. I
never enjoyed saying Merry Christmas so much. After about three hours of battling
the wind, mud, rain, and covering miles of parking lot my body began to hurt. The funny thing is the more my body hurt the
more my heart felt warm. As the line of
people was dwindling down and my body was throbbing, I thought to myself, you
have done a lot you can call it a day. I was wrong.
Just as I thought this I looked to the elderly man I had seen all
day. He had a slumped over walk, he wore
denim jeans and denim shirt. His hair
was thick and pure white. His face never
had a smile, yet just by looking at him you could tell he was a worker. He was easily in his late 60’s if not
older. He started at 6:00am when I did
and at 12:30pm he was still going strong.
I looked over at him and said to myself if he is still working, I am
still working. With that I worked
another 30 minutes until there were no more people in line to help.
As I put my cart away I walked up to my wife who had a beautiful smile
on her face, my son was playing with his friend, and I had the greatest feeling
of satisfaction I have ever had. This is
what life is about giving and helping. I
have known that, taught that, and lived that for years but it had been some
time since I experienced it like this.
As always, God put me in the right place at the right time. God showed
me again what is so special in about life and the spirit of people. My family and I were thanked by countless
staff, including our friend Melissa. I
feel I owe them a thank you! I am now a huge supporter of the Salvation Army
and so are several of my friends who want to join us next year. Because
of the Salvation Army it truly will be a Merry Christmas for all and to all a
good night! 
Photos Courtesy of Melissa Cohoon-Neece
