Krissy Sonewald knows the dirty little secret of volunteerism: The giver gets as much as the receiver.
"It makes me feel useful," says Sonewald, 25, of Fargo. "Just being out and meeting people from all walks of life, you get a lot more out of it than you give. I just get complete enjoyment out of it."
She has been a volunteer at Bethany Homes in Fargo for 5½ years, working five days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. By the beginning of this year, she had logged 7,683 hours.
Her main job is to deliver mail to 144 Bethany Homes residents in the skilled nursing care units. It can be good, old-fashioned snail mail or it can be hard copies of e-mail. She reads the mail to 20 percent to 30 percent of residents whose eyesights are failing.
On a recent day, Sonewald - who has cerebral palsy and makes her rounds in a wheelchair - was repeatedly greeted lovingly by residents. Even if she wasn't visiting them specifically to deliver mail, her mere presence drew praise. As she visits residents, a sunny smile never leaves her face.
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"She brings a lot of cheer to this place," says resident Robert Voorhees. "She's very capable."
She has duties other than delivering mail. She helps residents learn to play computer games. She runs a booth at Bethany Homes' annual carnival. In recent weeks, she's judged a dog show at the home and modeled a bridesmaid's dress in a wedding style show. She also helps Bethany Homes staff brainstorm new activities for residents.
The residents aren't the only people at Bethany Homes who like to see her coming. Amy Overby, director of Bethany's Therapeutic Recreation Department, says she's also popular with the staff.
Staff members and Sonewald "have developed a really strong friendship," Overby says.
Overby herself said she has found Sonewald to be a valuable addition to Bethany Homes.
"She'll do whatever I give her to do," she says. "She will try anything. When she first started delivering mail it was, 'How is she going to take all the mail and deliver it to each unit?' She came up with a system that works for her."
Staff and residents "see her as an inspiration," Overby says. "She's gone through a lot and (she's) always so positive and uplifting."
Her activities at Bethany were recognized in March with a Golden DOV Award for outstanding volunteer service, an honor that came as a surprise. It's given by a group comprised of directors of volunteers from a number of Fargo-Moorhead organizations.
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"I was shocked," Sonewald says, her already sunny smile growing even brighter at the memory of that evening March 28. "I was crying, and everybody at my table was crying."
She started volunteering after a friend who worked at Bethany extolled its virtues. But there was a more serious purpose as well, she says. She didn't just want to help; she also wanted to bust stereotypes about the disabled.
The limits on her mobility haven't restricted what she can do and have helped her relate to nonambulatory residents, she says.
But the practical effects of her volunteerism take a back seat to the chance to get to know people.
"There have been a couple that have stood out as being extremely friendly, want(ing) to get to know me," Sonewald says. "It's nice to become part of their family, so to speak. I'm just happy I can kind of be a friendly face." There's a downside to such closeness, though, when residents she's become close to die. "That's actually the hardest part of being here," she says. Still, it's a small price to pay for the pleasure she gets out of it - pleasure she won't forsake anytime soon. She'll keep coming to Bethany "as long as they'll have me and as long as I'm happy."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Tom Pantera at (701) 241-5541
