By Jim Segaar, Companis Worker
Companis volunteer Pam Russell is combining her love of water, her “happy place,” with her desire to give back. “Volunteering is a critical part of life,” she said. “It is just part of who I am.”
Pam is a retired Coast Guard captain who also worked for the Veterans Administration. She volunteers with two water-focused agencies through Companis. She is an able-bodied crew member for Footloose Disabled Sailing, which enables people with disabilities to sail. In addition, she helps rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals with SR3 – Sealife Response + Rehab + Research. Pam doesn’t stop there. She also volunteers at the Seattle Aquarium and with the USO.
“I know how blessed I am,” Pam says. She has good retirement benefits, good health, and housing. “I can truly give back where I can make a difference.” Footloose Disabled Sailing makes a difference by providing access to sailing for persons with mental, developmental, and physical disabilities, their friends, families, and caregivers. The nonprofit teaches sailing and seamanship. They promote camaraderie and personal growth, and encourage increased independence for their participants. Sailing days are every other Saturday from May to September on Lake Washington, weather permitting. Footloose is a 100% volunteer run organization.
Footloose’s motto is “Leave your disability at the dock,” according to Bob Ewing, the current president and co-founder. Some participants just want to go for a boat ride. Some want to help sail a little. And some, including several high quadriplegics (think actor Christopher Reeve), want to learn to sail, perhaps even get their own boat. The organization has a fleet of sailboats, some equipped so that people who are paralyzed can sail. Volunteers set up equipment on shore, help participants don life vests and get to the dock, move into a boat, and then sail. Pam helps with all of these tasks.
She says it’s inspiring to see someone who is wheelchair-bound being hoisted into a boat using a mechanical arm and sling, and once in their boat, having the adaptive controls they need to sail it. In addition to being able-bodied crew, volunteers offer boat maintenance, administration, and fundraising skills.
“I’m loving it,” she says of her Footloose placement.
A love of sealife, too
Farther south, in Des Moines, Pam travels to the nonprofit SR3. The agency responds to stranded or injured marine wildlife throughout the Pacific Northwest, including disentangling sea lions and whales from ocean trash and fishing gear. Pam works on a team that rehabs seal pups. The Rescue Center they operate is the only hospital for marine animals in the Pacific Northwest. Currently the group cares for about 30 pups. Pam is trained in husbandry, which includes working with veterinary technicians who care for the pups. She cleans spaces, prepares food and equipment, and helps protect the technicians from pup bites when they are treating the animals. Her commitment is a four-hour shift three times a month.
“It’s amazing what we do with the pups,” she says. They come to the facility sick, starved, and emaciated. They get rehabilitation and nourishment, and then are released. A favorite moment for Pam is seeing a pup going back into the wild.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of SR3, according to Scott Fraser, senior giving officer. The organization has 80 “very active” volunteers like Pam involved in animal care. SR3 hopes to get more volunteers involved in the future, helping with additional tasks such as outreach and administration.
“I’ve been really impressed with how responsive Companis is,” Scott says. It’s difficult for small nonprofits to find the volunteers they need, and Companis helps with that.
In both her Companis placements, Pam was surprised by how quickly she was accepted for who she is and what she can do. She has to limit the amount she can lift, and yet she feels a valued member of each team.
Pam was introduced to Companis by a former VA coworker, Constance Wilkinson. She serves as Vice President on the Companis Board. Pam attended the Companis Showcase fundraising event last October, and was inspired then to get personally Involved. She says joining Companis is “a fantastic experience,” with open communication, a simple application, and the ability to check out an organization before making a commitment.
“Companis takes great care of its volunteers,” she says.
At the VA she was involved in administration, and needed a more social experience. Through Companis’ regularly scheduled gatherings with other volunteers and staff, Pam has built a much stronger social network, with a diverse group of people from varying backgrounds who serve the community in different ways. She found a “family” that she could join and be accepted exactly as she is. She hopes to bring more Companis volunteers to both of her placement sites in the future.
“Volunteering is a critical part of life,” she said. “It is just part of who I am.”