Caution: You Will Enjoy This a Lot More Than You Think You Will
Why I continue serving with Team Rubicon
Team Rubicon should consider attaching a warning label to its service projects: “Caution — You will enjoy this a lot more than you think you will.”
That’s the feeling I took away from my second TR volunteer experience, one in which we partnered with Blue Spruce Habitat For Humanity on a day-long build for a two-family home under construction in Kittredge, CO.
Sure, it helped that the weather was ideal for a mid-October day, the mountain air might have bequeathed about 50 percent more energy to each of us, and the locals were simply the nicest folks you can find anywhere. But it was the work and the camaraderie that set that Saturday apart from any other in recent memory.
When the initial briefing hasn’t even kicked off and you find yourself assigned the mission of cleaning the dirt from an old coffee maker and setting it up as an outside coffee mess, you know it’s going to be a hard-charging day. In fact, you get the feeling it’s going to be the exact kind of day you signed up for.
For some volunteers, a service project such as this means employing skills they have acquired and honed, even ones with which they might make a living. For others – and I’m firmly in this camp – it’s a brave new world when you’re handed a gas-powered nail gun and expected to wield it safely and efficiently.
But this is the perfect environment for such learning experiences — the duty expert will guide you and the atmosphere is one of encouragement and motivation that leaves you feeling confident in no time. The same goes for cutting plywood on top of a roof or installing windows down below; it seemed like we transformed from a crew of mostly beginners at this building stuff to an adept work crew.
That’s one of the keys to Team Rubicon’s success. In my limited experience, the ability to accomplish a tremendous amount is there because of who makes up this organization and how well it’s run. I admit, I was a skeptic when I first heard about TR a couple of years ago, wary as I was of veteran service organizations in general.
But for one thing, a rigorous day of labor with this bunch turned out to be fun. It was all the enjoyment of being “in the field” with none of the BS, as I explained it to friends.
The cohesiveness that forms when you pitch in with others to accomplish a mission, with clear goals and tasks to tackle it, is something you dearly miss after you exit active military life.
But the nonsense and games involved in those military field endeavors are certainly not missed. TR manages to deliver the one without sliding you the turd sandwich of the other.
The organization’s impressive design makes it further appealing. Right away, I learned about its structure which matches up with FEMA’s so units can be activated to respond to emergencies in a way no other volunteer organization can replicate. With so much accumulated experience and know-how, TR inevitably stands out as a valued disaster-response outfit. And once you spend a little time getting to know your new mates, you’re even more drawn than you initially were, ensuring you’re considered deployable in the event of a crisis.
Finally, Team Rubicon is a great example of allowing members to get out what you put in, and how much you do, well, that’s up to you. It’s the satisfaction of helping out a community, gaining new skills while refreshing existing ones that come in handy in a disaster zone, and bonding with others who know a thing or two about serving something much larger than self.
And did I mention how fun it is?
Written by Dan Huvane, a Marine Corps veteran who serves as a Team Rubicon volunteer in Colorado
