“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” - Khalil Gibran

This weekend, I volunteered at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center in Wawona, California to train teachers and the parents who will be helping them as they bring 4th and 5th grade students to Yosemite next May for the Yosemite Environmental Living Program (YELP http://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/education/elp.htm).  I’ve been involved with this program since 1988 and I’ve been training people to run the blacksmith shop station for many years.

The students will be studying Yosemite’s history all year and each of them will learn about a specific person who played a significant role in that history. When they are on site in the spring, they will be in character and in costume portraying the Yosemite pioneer that they have studied. For twenty-four hours, they will be John Muir, Totuya, Jessie Benton Frémont, Galen Clark, Bridget and John Degnan, and many other people significant in the history of this place. They will cook their dinner on the wood stove, ride the stagecoach, make a project at the forge in the blacksmith shop, and practice other skills that were important from 1850-1920.

Each of them will complete a project related to the contributions the person they are playing made to Yosemite’s history. Chief Tenaya may prepare to present on the significance of this place to his people, John Muir may write an essay, or a letter to congress, urging the preservation of wilderness, Totuya may design a basket she hopes to weave, Christian Jorgensen will likely paint a watercolor. Enid Michael may write about the flora and birds of this region and about her experiences as one of the first female rangers in Yosemite, and Bridget Degnan might write about her plans for the bakery she would start in the valley.

The goals of the program include helping students learn about why the national parks were created, and about the dynamic tension in the park service mission to preserve and protect these special places while providing for access and enjoyment, and giving them an awareness that these places belong to them. In a few short years, these young citizens will be voting and will participate in decisions that affect the future of these places. I’ve learned that the program provides an intensely memorable experience for the students and for the parents and teachers who participate.

I particularly remember two student of my wife’s from the late 1980s. Both had emigrated to the U.S. with their families from the refugee camps in Thailand. I remember meeting the first at a fabric store where she was working. This young woman, who had last seen my wife as she finished the fourth grade, immediately recognized her, said, “You were my teacher!” and wanted to talk about the YELP and her experiences there. It was lovely to hear her share these memories and we were thrilled to hear of her plans to enter the nursing program at my university.

I also remember one of her classmates who neither spoke nor wrote any English throughout their school year. He was an excellent student, had completed his report for YELP in his native language, and had it translated to English by a classmate. He portrayed Christian Jorgensen and had painted a lovely watercolor. When he walked out on the stage at the Town Hall Meeting where students share what they have done and discuss the future of the park, we expected that he would hold up his painting. He did, but then he surprised us all by looking at the audience and saying, “Hello. My name is Christian Jorgensen, and this is my painting.” The crowd burst into applause and cheers and the ranger turned to my wife and asked, “What just happened?”. When Sue explained that these were the first English words any of us had ever heard him speak, the ranger understood the response. I feel moved whenever I remember that moment.

My purpose in writing about the YELP today is both to make more people aware of this wonderful program and to emphasize what a profound difference we can make in the lives of others when we agree to give our time as volunteers. Inevitably, volunteering also has a profound impact on the lives of the volunteers. I am proud beyond the power of words to tell of the thirty years my wife has volunteered to Yosemite and the YELP. After many years participating in the program and volunteering at the fall training sessions, she chose to leave the classroom and give her complete attention to coordinating this program so that it could survive budget cuts and other pressures. For over ten years, she has played that role and she was recognized a few years ago as Yosemite’s Volunteer of the Year.

In these 30 years, Sue has touched the lives of well over 10,000 students, teachers and parents. Since the YELP program began in the late 1970’s, I’ve been amazed and inspired by the willingness of dedicated teachers like Sue and her colleagues, and their parent helpers, to take on the myriad details of preparing for and running these programs. Year after year, I’ve seen the difference it makes for the kids and the impact it has on the volunteers. Many choose to come back year after year to give their time and talents and there is a strong camaraderie among the members of this group.

The best moment of this past weekend for me was having the opportunity to thank the volunteers for what they do. After a day of training the parents and teachers how to facilitate the blacksmith shop station, I enjoyed sitting by the campfire eating a dinner of beef stew and cornbread they had cooked on the wood stove, and then played in the band for their Saturday-night barn dance in the gray barn in Wawona. Dean Shenk, the ranger and historian who supports the YELP, was kind enough to give me the mike for a moment between dances. I thanked the teachers and parents for volunteering and told them that it is only their commitment and dedication that make it possible for their students and children to have this remarkable experience. I admire what they are doing and I’m proud to be a part of that effort.

There are so many wonderful examples of how volunteers make the difference for others and each represents an opportunity for us to enrich our own lives as we serve others. I admire all of you who give your time to serve in hospitals, work for political campaigns and other social causes, volunteer for the Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, parks, arts and literacy programs, work with our elders, and make the difference in so many other ways. May we each continue to look for these opportunities in our lives and may we remember to share our appreciation for each other and our joy in this work.