Speaking of Service- Words from members who received a 2008 Volunteer Excellence Award.

“The reason I served in the first place is because I was asked. ” —Matt Wilhelm

Matt Wilhelm - Manchester, New Hampshire

Matt is engaged to be married in November to his fiancé, Jody. He is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Newington, New Hampshire and of the New Hampshire Chapter in the Northeast Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He received his Volunteer Excellence Award in the Youth category and donated his grant to Calumet Lutheran Ministries and City Year New Hampshire.

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Matt:

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering?
A. It was 10 years ago when I was a counselor in training at Camp Calumet; our trainer had served a year in AmeriCorps. I was inspired by him and his leadership, as well as his giving back to the church and greater community. That was a formative summer for me. I was 16 years old. I actually paid to work at camp that summer, and I worked at Calumet for seven summers after that. In 2002, I trained my own crew of counselors and later served as a program director for the resident camp.

After serving two years as an AmeriCorps member with City Year, I got involved with ServeNext—a political advocacy organization working to expand national service opportunities like AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace Corps. We ran a grassroots campaign in New Hampshire and engaged all presidential candidates. After, I went on a 60-day bus tour to 30 cities across the country to talk about the future of AmeriCorps. I saw what it could do to bring together people from different backgrounds and other ways of life. It’s something I’m passionate about.

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering with Thrivent Financial?
A. One of my mentors at Camp Calumet moved to Seattle last fall. He served on the Thrivent chapter board and asked me if I wanted to learn more about it. I’ve been a Thrivent Financial member forever. Whenever Camp Calumet would do fund-raisers, we would always apply for supplemental funding. I felt it was a brand I should have been more aware of, but I really just didn’t know a lot about it. I said, “Tell me more what being a Thrivent Financial member really means.”

It turned out the chapter board needed people. I love to find opportunities with organizations that traditionally don’t have young people actively serving on their boards and committees. So I became the Community Service Team Director. It’s been cool. I love hearing these ideas for different projects. It’s inspiring to hear people’s ideas of how they want to make a difference in their own communities. It’s also neat to connect Thrivent Financial with other community service organizations like City Year—for projects like Join Hands Day.

Q. Why do you volunteer with your Thrivent chapter?
A. The reason I served in the first place is because I was asked. That’s the first step many overlook. People, especially young people, are just waiting to be asked. In this case, someone that I respected a lot took an interest in me.  And I responded.

Q. What’s the most heart-warming activity you’ve been a part of?
A. The most heartwarming for me was when I went on a couple Thrivent Builds days in Burlington, Vermont. Being able to serve alongside individuals who are not looking for a hand out, but are willing and are driven to work, is great. It’s been unique because usually when we think of service, we think of providing service to other people. Thrivent Builds is an opportunity to work alongside someone, have a conversation and learn about someone we’d otherwise never have a reason to engage in dialogue. It’s what we’re called to do as Christians. It’s living out the Gospel.

Q. What’s the most unique fund-raising activity you’ve been a part of?
A. Last spring, City Year corps members came to Manchester for a four-day conference, which included service projects that engaged community members. To be involved in that from the very beginning was great. Parks were cleaned and restored, schools were painted and playgrounds were built. The Thrivent Chapter helped support it financially. Everyone from the community was encouraged to come out and get their hands dirty.

Q. What would you say to someone wanting to get involved with a Thrivent chapter?
A. Do it right away! I think we all can wait for the most convenient or opportune time to serve others, but until you actually do it, you won’t realize the difference you can make. It gets in your blood; your justice nerve gets hit. We have all choices about how we’re going to use the hours we’re given each week. By serving, we know others are benefiting from the time that we have given.

Q. What is your motivation for volunteering?
A. I think for me, volunteering helps to change the way people think about young people in our society. We’re given this opportunity to have the impact. There are so many stereotypes about my generation, and I know we’re capable of so much more than that. I really do believe that a lot of it comes from proving people wrong. They think they know about me and my peers—that we’re always spending time online, that we don’t care about anything beyond our peripheral vision. That puts a real challenge before us; to be counted out in that way. We all have skills, and the diversity in our passion and skills is what puts us in the best position to make the greatest possible impact we can. I’m not the best carpenter in the world, but I’m a decent painter. And I am good at getting the word out about what we’re doing and how others can tap into it.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.”

Q. If the sky was the limit, and neither time nor money stood in the way, what would you like to see accomplished as a result of volunteer efforts?
A. I would love to see a common expectation of young people in America to give a year of service—to find time right after high school or college to give back to the community, whether it’s a passion for the environment or for children in impoverished communities. It’s about tapping the skills and passions of people and giving them an opportunity to do it. We often hear the question, “Where are you going to college?” But we also could ask, “Where are you going to do your service year and what are you going to be doing?”