New Hampshire is ranked number one in the nation for volunteering – with about 64 percent of the population doing volunteer work – but many organizations still need help

By Heather Matthews
Staff Writer

When many we recovering from their New Year’s Eve celebrations on Sunday, Gary and Dottie Webb were preparing breakfast for more than 50 people by 6 a.m. As volunteers at the Friendly Soup Kitchen, located at 14 Montgomery St., Concord, the Webbs didn’t let a mere four hours of sleep stop them from helping others have a warm breakfast on the holiday.

The Friendly Soup Kitchen provides dinner daily and breakfast on the weekend. About five volunteers prepare and serve breakfast each Sunday. Dottie Webb, of Concord, volunteers at the kitchen at least one Sunday a month.

“It needs to get done, or nobody gets fed,” said Gary.

The Friendly Soup Kitchen was established in 1980 when founder Pauline Bell received a $10,000 grant from Catholic Charities. Originally only three meals were served a week from its first home on South Main Street, but in just a few years, when the soup kitchen changed homes in 1982, five meals were served to an estimated 35 people a week. Now, located on Montgomery Street, the kitchen serves nearly 50 people a day, with evening meals served daily and breakfast served on the weekends.

The Webbs have volunteered at the kitchen for nearly three years, preparing and serving breakfast at least one Sunday a month. Often, the entire Webb family volunteers at the kitchen including their son John, who volunteers when he is home from Iraq while on leave from the armed forces.

Statistics say that people like Bell and the Webbs are not an oddity in New Hampshire. About 64 percent of the state’s 1.3 million people, or more than 150,000 people, spend time volunteering each year. New Hampshire is ranked number one in the nation for volunteering with about 40 percent of the country’s population volunteering annually.

But Tim Dupre, director of Volunteer NH, said that despite the high average of volunteers in the state, every organization is still in need of more volunteers.

“We’re always trying to increase those numbers,” he said. “And those numbers also represent the people who volunteer at the one-time-a-year walk-athon. Organizations also want a consistent person. Big Brothers Big Sisters want mentors that aren’t going to leave the kids. Those people are special. You can’t find them on every street corner. But everybody can be a good volunteer.”

According to Gary Webb, there are just a few requirements a person must meet to be a good volunteer – the most important being the desire to make a difference in someone’s life.

“You have to believe in what you are volunteering to do,” he said. “You have to have a sense of humility and a sense of fair play. You have to want to make a difference. You have to have a basic love of the cause and you have to be willing to put the time in.”

The Webbs are more than willing to put more than a few hours into volunteering a week. Along with the soup kitchen, Dottie spends several hours a week volunteering through her church, Bow Mills United Methodist. She has also worked with Habitat for Humanity. Gary volunteers with the Salvation Army.

“I volunteer wherever they need me,” said Dottie.

While the couple said they can’t speak for others who volunteer, they know it makes them feel good to help those less fortunate, to help better someone’s life – if even for just the length of a meal.

“I enjoy doing it,” said Dottie. “If I can make someone’s life just a little bit better than what they have, it makes it worth it.”

Volunteering, said Gary, also changes your life. It is an experience you will take with you always, he said.

“I was playing Santa Claus for the Salvation Army and we always had to ask for the child’s name and age,” said Gary. “After that, this girl said to me, ‘Santa, can you do me a favor? Can you make sure my dad gets something for Christmas? He’s in jail and I want him to get something for Christmas, too.’ That stays with you. You take that one home and you use it.”

That experience, he said, pushed him to continue his volunteer work, even when he felt he was too tired or too busy to do it. Also, volunteering helps people appreciate what they have in life.

“I’m thankful for what I have when I look around,” said Dottie. “Who knows? We might be on the other side of that fence someday.”

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