Finding Your Reason to Serve

I always appreciated those who gave their time to serve their communities but I didn’t realize how much their impact mattered until I found my reason to serve.

My son Jack was diagnosed at the age of five with a rare genetic disorder called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). DMD is characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness and is one of many other neuromuscular diseases that is labeled under muscular dystrophy. Children with DMD often have a hard time with many daily activities that people take for granted like brushing your teeth or feeding yourself, they often lose the ability to walk before they hit their teens.

Today, Jack is in the 11th grade and he and his brother Mark are Eagle Scouts. He is also an integral player on his Challenger Baseball team. On Friday nights you’ll find him under the football stadium lights playing the tuba in his high school marching band. In fact, there isn’t much my son can’t do and almost nothing he does without a smile on his face and a positive word for others. And so he inspires me to do more. More for him, more for other children with serious diseases and more for my community. Because I believe that we can build a better tomorrow if we all find ways to help each other.

In 2016 I spent more than 500 hours volunteering. Several of those hours were spent on activities to help kids like Jack by raising funds and awareness in search of a cure for DMD. Several more were spent working with my state representative to pass a Right to Try law for people with terminal illness to have access to experimental drugs in Ohio. I helped get service dogs – like Jack’s dog Tommy who you can find marching beside him at those football games – to kids who need them through Wags 4 Kids. I also managed to sneak in a few hours teaching CPR with the American Heart Association – this helps me in one of my favorite weekend activities as a member of the National Ski Patrol. I volunteer in order to make a difference in the life of my son and other children who suffer from terminal diseases.

This National Volunteer Month, I encourage you to join me and the rest of us at AT&T and find a cause that matters to you. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out the incredible stories of some of my fellow employee volunteers here. You will never truly know the profound impact your actions have on others.