"Stories are where memories go when they are forgotten" - Doctor Who.
(2024-Sep-13) As September quickly moves forward, with schools starting and kids returning to their routines, the memories of the past summer months can easily fade away and be forgotten. I’d like to leave this post here for myself, and perhaps for others who might enjoy spending a few minutes reading it.
When I was growing up, it was very common to receive an assignment early in September in my language class to write an essay titled, 'How I Spent My Summer.' Usually, kids would cram a whole list of activities or events into a few pages. Sometimes, our teacher would recommend describing one event from the summer in more detail.
My youngest daughter was going to spend two weeks of her summer break at a camp located not too far from where we live. I knew this camp was always in need of volunteers to assist with various activities. While I wasn’t particularly interested in watching over my daughter while she was at camp, I wanted to help in the kitchen. So, I took a week off from work and applied for a kitchen assistant volunteer position at the camp.
On my first day of helping in the camp kitchen, I was assigned to cook burgers for the entire camp. The camp wasn’t that large, but I still had to flip about 70–80 burger patties. When you do this at home for your family, the margin for error is small, and you can always explain to your kids if one burger gets burned. Doing the same thing for the entire camp, however, is a different level of responsibility, so I had to review the cooking instructions carefully.
After the meal, the staff helped clean the kitchen, and we, as volunteers, had the chance to eat our food at the end of the day. Another volunteer complimented the burgers, saying they were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Later, I learned that she had owned her own bakery back in her home country before moving to Canada. This conversation boosted my confidence and deepened my understanding of the importance of following written instructions to achieve the best results.
There was one thing I didn’t know existed at the camp. It was part of our job as volunteers to set a 'table serving' example—I think that’s how it was written on our daily checklist. As it was explained to me, before serving food, an example of an individual serving was set on one table. Depending on the meal (breakfast or lunch) and the type of food being served, this example would show the arrangement of a plate, cup, fork, and spoon on a single tray. Most days, the setup was the same, but sometimes it varied.
About 10–15 minutes before the call for the kids to come, one child from each assigned table would come to help set up the table, using the 'table serving' as a guide for which utensils to place. It reminded me of the importance of doing things right from the start, as fixing small 'mistakes' later can be costly. Imagine eating tomato soup with a fork! 🙂
One time, we had a visit from a food inspector. It was common practice for them to visit places like this several times during the summer to ensure that meal preparation, food storage, and cleaning procedures were in line with regulations. As a kitchen volunteer, I didn’t interact with the inspector directly but observed how our kitchen manager communicated with her, providing information, and showing everything requested. The inspector was friendly, didn’t create any issues, and only made a few recommendations on how to improve the operation of our camp kitchen. It was a good reminder for me that constructive feedback is always valuable!
Eventually, my volunteering at the children's summer camp turned into a seven-day job, where on some days I spent more than 12 hours in the camp kitchen with only a few breaks in between. I began to appreciate even more the people who fulfill their responsibilities in their 'office' environments, working 5–7 days a week, with no option to work from home. The true nature of volunteering also became clearer to me: you simply show up, provide your help, and leave without expecting to be thanked (that’s not part of the job description).
If I were to organize any volunteer opportunities, I would avoid promoting them on social media. I don’t see much value in dressing a group of employees in matching outfits, taking group photos, and showcasing the results of their volunteering for the world to see.
Once, I heard an explanation of the scripture: 'But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.' It was explained that true generosity happens when your acts of kindness and help become so automatic and natural that you don’t even notice what both hands are doing. I believe the purpose of volunteering is to help others, and not seek public recognition.
If you’ve made it to the end of this post, you might
understand the reason for the photo at the beginning. Another benefit of
volunteering at the summer camp was the opportunity to see beautiful
countryside sunsets on some days while driving to the camp early in the
morning. I really enjoyed that!