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

“Whether the volunteer efforts are ongoing or something comes up, we can be counted on to help. ” —Jeff Olinger

Jeff Olinger - Decorah, Iowa

Jeff and his wife, Heidi, have two children: Drew, 16, and Tess, 11. The Olingers are members of First Lutheran Church in Decorah, Iowa. Jeff is a member of the Winneshiek County Chapter in the Iowa Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He received his Volunteer Excellence Award in the Financial Representatives category and awarded his grant to First Lutheran Church Food Pantry and to the Food Resource Bank of Winneshiek County.

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Jeff:

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering?
A. I have always volunteered to some extent. My family was always taught to give back to the community and church. So volunteering is fairly natural in my case. I like the distraction of being involved in other things, rather than just my job. Volunteering has been my way of life. I’m involved in a mix of things in my community of 10,000 people. In a community of that size, you can see the impact of what individuals can achieve. I was a college basketball coach at Luther College for 15 years, so as I have been involved in volunteering with youth sports, I have some expertise in that area. Our family is also very involved in our congregation. Whether the volunteer efforts are ongoing or something comes up, we can be counted on to help.

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering with Thrivent Financial?
A. I started with Thrivent Financial two years ago. I chose Thrivent rather than any other financial services organization because of its uniqueness—it’s fraternal arm and the faith-based membership calling of the organization. The two go hand-in hand. If I was going to serve an organization with those ideals, to really connect and take advantage of the uniqueness, I would have to get out in the trenches with the volunteers and connect in that way. It was certainly part of my upbringing. But that’s what drew me to Thrivent Financial. It’s a win-win situation for me and my members as we work side-by-side.

Q. What’s the most heart-warming activity you’ve been a part of?
A. To date, I would have to say working with Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. I was a catalyst and leader to get the first house built in Winneshiek County. The day you turn the keys over to the family is a unique experience. There’s lots of joy, lots of tears. Seeing all the people that helped along with the family is the most impactful thing I’ve been involved in. But that doesn’t downplay any of the other fund-raisers we do. They’re all heart-warming.

Q. What’s the most unique fund-raising activity you’ve been a part of?
A. We have a big community festival called Nordic Fest. We make Kransekake—Norwegian wedding cake, which this year we sold to raise funds for Thrivent Builds.
I’m not much of a baker or a cook, but when you volunteer for something, it can expand your horizons, make you work out of your comfort zone.

Q. What would you say to someone wanting to get involved with a Thrivent chapter?
A. I’ve seen some people hesitant about volunteering their time to be involved with the chapter, but when people invited them to the meetings and they’ve seen the requests that come in, specifically from families in the community, they’re shocked. They didn’t realize we do these things. It’s a hidden treasure.

Q. What is your motivation for volunteering?
A. You get that inner feeling of doing something that has an impact. From a Thrivent Financial perspective, it shows that we do things not on a transactional basis, but on a relational basis. If want to build business long-term, it’s about relationships, trust, having connections with people. Many members are members because of the good the organization does.

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. Poverty. I don’t believe that in a world that has so many resources, talents and riches, that we should allow kids to be hungry, people to be homeless. I think there has to be a way to globally deal with that. It’s neat to do it one family at a time, like Habitat for Humanity does, or one project that Thrivent Financial supplemental funds are involved in. But if everybody had the mentality that we’re going to attack these problems, these issues, one-by-one, we can have an impact.