Helping Wheels

Megan Zander '01 LAS helped Rotary Club and the Wheelchair Foundation deliver 250 wheelchairs to Mexico City's needy in 2001. Zander wrote: "The recipients entered the stadium by a variety of means — some in old ratty wheelchairs, some being pushed on hand carts, some being carried by loved ones, and others literally crawled on their hands and knees. I helped lift dozens of children and adults into their new wheelchairs.

"Each person had their story to tell, and I spent the day translating to the California Rotarians," Zander wrote. "Needless to say, there were few dry eyes in the stadium that day.

"It was a life-changing experience." It must have been: Zander did the Rotary trip again in 2003.

Here, Zander takes in the sights as she reaches the summit of the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan outside Mexico City on her 2001 trip.

Law and Advocate

Lawyer and retired Champaign County Judge Jack De La Mar '67 LAS, JD '70 LAW, volunteers more than 60 hours a week with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), located in Urbana, as legal representation for children involved in abuse and neglect cases.

During his time as a judge, De La Mar remembers being "very, very impressed with the kids I saw," he said. "It was remarkable, the resilience." When he retired, he decided to volunteer with CASA partly out of religious duty and partly because "I really thought that [working with children in court cases] would be a ... fulfilling experience," he said.

De La Mar also feels his particular skills and situation as a lawyer demand that he help others. "Lawyers have it pretty good. ... You're generally so privileged," he said. "At some point, it wouldn't hurt to volunteer.

"I just feel fortunate to be in a position where I can."

News-Gazette Photo

A World Together

Lisa Dumich '01 LAS currently works full time as a volunteer at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in Honduras, an orphanage with 600 children. For her, the experience has only enhanced her understanding of herself and of the world.

"I don't think you always see the fruits of your labor when you're a volunteer. That's part of the deal," she wrote. "You put your time in and give them all the love you can, and then you leave, and the next group comes. It's all part of a cycle, and you have to trust that you are making a difference.

"The University of Illinois provided me with a world view that encouraged me to think outside of central Illinois. It gave me classes and professors that challenged my previously held beliefs," Dumich wrote. "There is a great charge on our shoulders, one which many people are too afraid to acknowledge. We are supposed to DO something with all this that we've been given. And for every person, that means something different."

Community Builder

Christopher Ruth '03 LAS spent 10 months volunteering for AmeriCorps on a variety of service projects in 2003-2004. "I wanted to do something more hands-on," he said of choosing AmeriCorps. He got his wish.

Ruth worked for Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans and cleared trails in the South. He taught in an elementary school. He helped children in hospitals, where "our job was to make sure that these kids had a pleasant time there," he said. "We got to play with them but also learned a lot about medicine."

Ruth also worked at a summer camp for HIV-positive youth, where he saw "these kids appreciating every minute of it," he said.

In addition to service, Ruth said the whole year was a lesson in teamwork. "I knew nothing about working with other people," said the aspiring director. "You have to learn compromise."

AmeriCorps "is just a way, I think, to give back." Ruth said. "Every experience, every day, I felt like I was doing something good."