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

“...if I can do something to improve their lives and their attitudes toward life, it’s important to me.” —Wayne Sprick

Wayne Sprick - Fredericksburg, Virginia

Wayne and his wife, Irene, have four children. They attend Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg. Wayne is a member of the Fredericksburg Chapter in the Mid-Atlantic Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He received his Volunteer Excellence Award in the Financial Representatives category and donated his grant to the National FFA Foundation and to Johns Hopkins Orthopedic Surgery in Baltimore. He also received a grant on the regional level, which he awarded to Lift High the Cross, a ministry of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering?
A. I’ve been involved in volunteering all my life, but actually started in high school with the local FFA chapter. I was a chapter officer for two years, and that involved working with various volunteer activities within the school system in Washington, Missouri. It just progressed from there.

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering with Thrivent Financial?
A. I was the branch president 35 years ago back in Missouri while involved with one of the predecessor organizations of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. It provided me the opportunity to show leadership that would not only involve myself in helping others, but also provided the opportunity to get others involved.

Q. Why do you volunteer with your Thrivent chapter?
A. I like doing it. It makes me feel good. It has always been a priority of mine that whenever I’m around other people, it’s important to me for them to be happy. Whether it be homeless people, people who have lost valuables due to weather conditions or whether it be victims of circumstances, if I can do something to improve their lives and their attitudes toward life, it’s important to me.

Q. What’s the most heart-warming activity you’ve been a part of?
A. That would probably be my involvement in serving and helping out at the Thurman Brisban Homeless Shelter in Fredericksburg. My involvement started initially many years ago when the local chapter started serving a meal there. I was involved in that, and since then it has progressed. In 2006, our Join Hands Day activity involved several other organizations and in addition to serving a meal, we were able to use some funds to provide needed items, such as clothing and hygiene materials for the residents. Most recently at Redeemer, our men’s large group ministry has been serving breakfast at the homeless shelter on a monthly basis. I’ve been there once, but to be there as part of that breakfast group and see the smiles and to hear the thank-yous from the residents, especially those family units that involve young children, is amazing. It’s heart-warming to hear the kids say thank-you and to see they appreciate it. The other thing important to me is that after the activity is complete, the people who served leave the homeless shelter feeling good about the two hours they just spent. Once they’ve done it, barring family commitments, they’re going to go back and do it again.

Q. What’s the most unique fund-raising activity you’ve been a part of?
A. The benefactor of the activity was a missionary in Zambia. It involved a group of college-age and young adults at Redeemer, along with their leader, who were going to Zambia to spend a week there at a mission. Their objective was to establish a garden and to train the people there how to raise their own food, as well as to conduct a vacation Bible school. The original goal was to raise $24,000. They put together a one-time fund-raising activity—a walk-athon. They wanted to raise all the money with one activity, and it exceeded the goal. I was one of the walkers and was able to solicit my financial support from my Thrivent colleagues. The walk was particularly significant for me because this was the first major physical activity I had participated in following my disability. I met my goals both in sponsorship and completeing the walk. There were several different levels you could walk, with the maximum being a five-mile walk. I set my goal at one-mile plus. I actually walked nearly two miles, and I was able to get out of bed the next morning.

Q. What would you say to someone wanting to get involved with a Thrivent chapter?
A. My advice would be to just do it, with the stipulation that if you don’t feel better after having done it, you don’t have to do it again.

Q. What is your motivation for volunteering?
A. To make other people feel good. That would be my motivation for volunteering. I’m a dwarf—I stand about 4 feet 4 inches tall. As I meet people for the first time, the initial reaction is for them to be uncomfortable with me. I have done some darn foolish things to break down the barrier. But it’s important to me for the people around me to be comfortable and happy.

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. Ideally, there would be no more hunger, poverty, pain, illness. The reality is that won’t happen. So we have to do what we can with the resources we have and make this world as pleasant as we can for the people with whom we come into contact.