Finding My Purpose in a Slightly Worn Out Soccer Ball
Volunteering to Help Resettling Afghan Refugees in Denver
As a semi-retired person, I recently found myself with a butt-load of spare time on my hands, so I began searching for some more purpose in my daily life. I heard from a friend about his work with an organization that was helping to resettle Afghan refugees into housing around Denver and decided to learn more.
After a quick internet search, I began reading through the Team Rubicon web pages learning about various missions, deployments to natural disasters, the ability to become a chain saw operator, or simply laboring on fire mitigation teams. Team Rubicon sends well-trained, mostly ex-military to other countries to support humanitarian efforts, but it was the local mission, Enduring Eagle, that ultimately grabbed my attention. That, and the Team Rubicon motto “we get shit done” spoke to me.
After doing all the paperwork to include a background check, I was proudly anointed with the title of “Greyshirt” and given the opportunity to deploy on my first operation, which I scheduled immediately.
Enduring Eagle operates across the country, with Denver being one of the cities. Working with various agencies throughout the area, they provide a huge welcome to Afghan refugees by moving them into their new homes, which is a foundation to a settled life. These refugees get additional support from a variety of agencies integrating them into education, work, and life.
Our basic role as a Greyshirt for Enduring Eagle in Denver is to gather donated furniture, bring it to the Salvation Army warehouse where it is sorted, organized, and staged by other team members for moves into the apartments where the Afghan refugees will live.
The other Greyshirts I’ve met are a diverse group with a common need to help others. Many have served our country in one of the military branches but there are others like me that are referred to as “kick-ass civilians”. We have the opportunity several times a day to get to know one another which is awesome. It is amazing how many incredible stories are shared by humble folks just out there getting shit done.
A typical day begins as other Greyshirts arrive at the warehouse where we are split into teams depending on the location of pickups, loads, and available volunteers. From there, we mostly go pick up donations from a variety of locations and bring them back to the warehouse where we unload the trucks. Moving furniture is hard work and requires a strong body and willingness to work as a team.
By the way, “moving furniture” is surely listed somewhere on the World Wide Web just behind laundry and dental work as the least favorite thing to do in life, but somehow these moves just seem right.
After unloading all the morning donations then reloading the trucks with furniture for the afternoon moves, we are provided lunch where more stories are shared around the table. I really enjoy those where other Greyshirts have met the Afghan families that are moving into the housing they are setting up. They have described families, groups of brothers, and those individuals who met only when they got to the US and are now living together.
There were stories of an Afghan father not knowing how to operate a stove and those kind refugees offering food and drink to the volunteers as they worked to set up the apartments. All heartwarming, human stories that prove that beyond war, conflict, and tragedy that we are all humans first, equipped with similar emotions, fears, and dreams for our life.
New teams are formed after lunch to move furniture into the new apartments. The teams with loaded trucks move to the apartment where we meet the representatives from the International Rescue Committee who bring more personal items such as kitchen wares, food, and toys for the children.
I remember my first day, carrying in all the heavy sofas, tables, and bedding, feeling quite worn out from the day when I glanced down to see a slightly worn soccer ball sitting among the stuff. I thought to myself at that moment, that all this heavy stuff that we are moving is nothing compared to what this family has encountered. The furniture will soon have faces and names using them, likely exhausted from moving a world away from the life they knew, human beings that need a comfortable place to sit, sleep, and eat. And there will be a child who will look down at this slightly used soccer ball to find a warm memory of a normal time in their life when playing soccer with friends was the happiest thing in their day.
Whenever the work involved with being a Greyshirt gets difficult for me, I think of that slightly worn soccer ball. Through this image, I am reminded of my purpose for being a Greyshirt, not the chore of moving heavy stuff but by knowing I, along with my other Greyshirts are helping others bring some normalcy back to their life.
