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

“Volunteering and working for Thrivent Financial make me feel good about myself.” —Steve Peterson

Steve Peterson -Appleton—Fraternal Planning and Support Services

Steve and his wife, Jill, have two children ages 4 and 2. Steve is a member of the Southeast Outagamie County Chapter in the Northeast Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He received his Volunteer Excellence Award in the Employees category and donated his grant to the American Cancer Society and to the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering?
A. When I was in grade school and junior high school, I got involved with little volunteer activities through church and Confirmation class.

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering with Thrivent Financial?
A. Someone approached me to be on the STAR Committee in the corporate office, and that’s where it got going. I saw all the different things they did and gained more responsibilities. I got involved with the JDRF walk, Thrivent Builds, Harbor House, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. I also started working with collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. That’s one of the neatest things we can do to make a difference. Nearly 2,000 employees saving them makes a huge difference.

Q. Why do you volunteer with your Thrivent chapter?
A. One of the reasons I work here is because of the volunteerism behind the scenes. Volunteering and working for Thrivent Financial make me feel good about myself.

Q. What’s the most heart-warming activity you’ve been a part of?
A. The JDRF walk, because it affects kids. To see what they are going through at such a young age, anything we can do to help them out is heartwarming to me. When I see a child give a little speech about his disease and what he goes through, it makes me feel blessed that I have two healthy children, but it also gives me the motivation to help those kids in need. These kids go through more in their young lives than many of us experience in our entire lives.

Q. What’s the most unique fund-raising activity you’ve been a part of?
A. Thrivent Builds. I don’t know of any other organizations that offer the trips the way Thrivent Financial does. My worldwide trip to Anchorage, Alaska, was something I’ll never forget. It’s because of the uniqueness of Thrivent Financial and its affiliation with Habitat for Humanity.

Q. What would you say to someone wanting to get involved with a Thrivent chapter?
A. I’m recruiting people all the time for House of Charity through the chapter! I just tell people it’s such a rewarding experience. When they start, they think they’re volunteering to help less fortunate people get a warm meal, but end up being the one who receives this wonderful feeling of really making a difference in someone’s life.

Q. What is your motivation for volunteering?
A. My motivation is the realization that I’m pretty fortunate, my family is fortunate. We live pretty comfortable lives and there are a lot of people out there who don’t. Anything we can do to give back to make someone else’s life more like ours is the biggest motivation.

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 wish we could just have a cure for cancer. There’s not been one person who hasn’t been affected by it. If we could defeat that thing, it would make everything a lot better.