On Volunteering with Kathy Lochary

Jon: 00:00:01

Welcome to Good News, being brought to you by Listening for Clues.

Lauren: 00:00:06

We are Lauren Welch and Jon Shematek, deacons in the

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Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

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We sure are.

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And today we have some good news that we're bringing you with our

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special guest, Kathy Lochary.

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Kathy is a mother of three, a wife of 52 years.

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A retired government analyst and she enjoys being with her family,

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friends, volunteering, hiking.

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Crocheting and Zumba.

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Welcome, Kathy.

Kathy: 00:00:40

Thank you.

Kathy: 00:00:41

It's good to be here.

Lauren: 00:00:44

It's really good to have you with us today, Kathy.

Lauren: 00:00:47

I know that you do a lot of volunteering.

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What motivated you to get involved with your various volunteer positions?

Kathy: 00:00:56

You know,

Kathy: 00:00:57

I was thinking about that a little bit and Part of me goes back to,

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gosh, when I was even younger and going around the neighborhood with

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a wagon and a girlfriend collecting canned goods for the Fresh Air Fair.

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I think that's what it was called back then.

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And then a little later I remember thinking how my dad would kind of

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make a plate of food and take it to one of his buddies up at maybe the

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corner pub that didn't have a lot.

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And my mom always baked and made cookies for family and of course she did it

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for all the people she worked with too.

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So giving has kind of always been a little bit in my background and it

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just, You know, it's part of, of me, I guess, or part of my identity, and

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when our daughter died in 2011, it was the summer of 2011 shortly after that,

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my sister wanted to help me in dealing with grief and moving forward, and she

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suggested that we start doing something to help remember our daughter, Erin.

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So, Erin loved animals, so we started doing a collection every

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Christmas for animals and we would do a different shelter or a different

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organization, find out what they needed.

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We would collect cash and food items and then we would deliver it on Christmas Eve.

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And then the pandemic came and that sort of washed a lot of in person efforts.

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So, after the pandemic, when we started being back in person again, I ended

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up being very fortunate to stand next to this lady in a senior center

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exercise class, who at the time was looking to fill 150 Christmas stockings

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for folks, men, women, and children.

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at the two Baltimore County organizations.

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One was the Family Crisis Center, and they serve women and children who are abused.

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And the other is a Baltimore County organization, the Eastern Family

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Resource Center, which also has a homeless shelter with over 200 beds.

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So she was standing next to me, and she had mentioned

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her need, and we got talking.

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And as I'm thinking about this, I, I remember thinking at that time, you

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know, I know some really generous women and Lauren, you know, them too, that

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are part of a group that we belong to.

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And I thought that they'll help out.

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So I committed us to making a certain number of Christmas stockings for

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men, women, and children filling them with everything from hats and

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gloves and scarves and socks and all the basic toiletries you might

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need in a shelter or at any point when you're in need in your life.

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And then for the children, we did those basic things too,

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and then included treats and...

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little games and puzzles and toys.

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So that's how it started a couple of years ago when things

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opened up after the pandemic.

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Well, and it's kind of been going on.

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So that was the first Christmas.

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And I think our group committed to about 35 of the stockings

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that needed to be delivered.

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And my husband kind of got in the business of helping to make the

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flyers that my friend would post.

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One at our senior center and there was a box at the senior center and people

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would fill the box up and we have a truck so we would help make the delivery to

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the Eastern Family Resource Center and we would fill the bed of the Toyota.

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So that was pretty cool.

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And then along came Easter.

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So my friend reached out again and then, and all the women chipped in and they

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bring stuff to our house or we would pick it up and we would assemble the

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baskets if they weren't already assembled.

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And then we assisted in delivering.

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A truck full of Easter baskets.

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And we are just a part of that donation.

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There were others doing the same thing and coming together through this woman to,

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to bring it to these two organizations.

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And then for Halloween, we all gathered candy and treats for kids at Halloween.

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And on occasion, my friend has reached out, like, we need a coat.

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Anybody have a coat for a woman, a size 12?

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So we just spread the word out and then along comes a coat and we

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get it down to whoever needed it.

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So it's been a couple years and we've helped out with Christmas

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a couple times, Easter a couple times, and Halloween as well.

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And the last donation was over 250 Easter baskets that were delivered

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to the Eastern Family Resource Center and the Family Crisis Center.

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Now, my small group, we didn't do all of those, others pitched in

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too, that my friend knows from other areas, but you know how it goes, if

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you do a little and I do a little.

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And somebody else does a little.

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Before you know it, you got a truck full.

Kathy: 00:06:01

So that's what I enjoy doing and happy to share and talk about it.

Jon: 00:06:05

Wow, that, that is great, Kathy.

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So, you know, what's amazing to me in hearing your stories, you were able to

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turn a time of really profound tragedy in your own life and turn that around

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and you've touched so many people's lives and helped so many I you probably

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don't have a count, but I bet it's a lot.

Kathy: 00:06:26

I don't have a count In fact, I said to my husband I said, oh, I wonder

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what I did with all the pictures You know how after a while you get so many

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pictures in the system You have to kind of you know, slim it down a little bit

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but it has been a great opportunity to give and You know, starting with the four

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legged fur babies at the animal shelter.

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I mean, they don't come out and say thank you.

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But I know that the donation and the money that went to those organizations helped.

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And now helping the people that are in need and need basic things.

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And the last time we made the Easter donation, we were unloading the truck

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and we were setting everything on the steps outside of the resource center.

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And this little boy, I guess he was about five or six, was walking by with his maybe

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a parent, it looked like maybe a dad, and his eyes just got as big as saucers,

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and he just lit up, and you know, all this brightly decorated Easter candy and

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baskets, and when I saw that, I just knew I was going to keep doing this as long

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as I can, because it brought him joy and gosh, it sure brought me a lot of joy.

Lauren: 00:07:39

Kathy, in all this, has there been anything that truly surprised you?

Kathy: 00:07:46

You know, hmm, let me think about that for a second.

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I can't say that the generosity of people truly surprised me, because I do

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believe in people, and they are generous.

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And when you ask...

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They come through and I would just reach out to one person in another

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group And then she would go out and reach out to everybody in her little

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group and and then even another organization Contact from that said

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well, we have a box of extra toiletries.

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We'll give it to you to give to them.

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So I'm glad that the generosity doesn't surprise me.

Kathy: 00:08:26

It just fills me up because people are very generous.

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And and I think the organizations are very grateful.

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Well, the lady that we've worked with at the Eastern Family Resource

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Center, she just feels thrilled when we come and unload the trucks.

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So I, if I've been surprised, it's always been in a good way

Lauren: 00:08:46

well you're developing relationships with a lot of different

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people that some of them you haven't met

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yet, . Right?

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Right.

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Or you

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met, you met in doing this you're making connections all over the place.

Jon: 00:09:00

That sounds, Kathy, that sounds like what your role is.

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I mean, you're not, you're not on the staff of any of these places.

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You're not an executive director of something like we've

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been talking to some folks.

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But you're really the one, somebody that's sort of on the ground or

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behind the scenes, maybe, who is linking people's needs with.

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People's resources.

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You're really helping to bring that all together.

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Is that right?

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Do I have that right?

Kathy: 00:09:25

I, I think that's true, Jon.

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And I, I, I've always liked the role of getting something to

Kathy: 00:09:31

somebody that might need it.

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And I even think as simple as Oh, well, I have a book that

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so and so might like to read.

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Let me ask if they want this book.

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From as simple as that, I've liked and enjoyed kind of helping to get things

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to people that need the things, or want the things, or could use the things.

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So, it's I think that's...

Kathy: 00:09:52

That's an accurate statement.

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I'm kind of a worker bee in the background, and that's fine with me.

Kathy: 00:09:58

Yeah.

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The world needs the worker bees in the background.

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You make everything happen.

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Yeah.

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I'm wondering, have you had any along the way, have there been any bumps in the road

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or things that have been harder to do?

Kathy: 00:10:12

I can't say that I have hit any bumps in the road.

Kathy: 00:10:16

I mean I, I feel like we've been pretty blessed in terms of

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participation and sometimes maybe the only bump would be getting the

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right quantity of certain items.

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Like if you're going to, for example, if you're going to provide 30 sock

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hats for men and the day that you're gathering to assemble them You may

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only have 15 And so you send a husband out to the store or another member of

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your group out to go get 15 more But I wouldn't consider that a problem I

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consider that that's not a bad thing.

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You just, you know, adapt a little and then you modify how

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you go forward the next year.

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And we did that at Christmas time this second year instead of just

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having everyone bring everything and then sort it out and try to.

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fill up the stockings.

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We had folks, you know, bring a stocking pre filled.

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And then what we did was we made name tags for little boys or little girls or adults.

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And just a little message we wrote on that Christmas tag for, for that individual.

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And I think even the woman that started getting me involved, she's even refined

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her process instead of saying, She wanted like men, women, and children, such

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and such, so many items, such and such.

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This year she said, well, you do children ages 5 to 7.

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So, it's not a problem, but it's learning and just refining the process as we

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move forward to, to get a little better.

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And even before the pandemic, when we were doing the donations for

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the fur babies, for the animals, you know, we learned to like, look

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at the list that the shelter sent.

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Posts and put out and what do they need and you know, my husband

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volunteers at a shelter now And we were talking and he said, you know,

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they don't need blankets right now.

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Now that could change I'm just using that as an example But just kind of

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in being informed and just trying to meet the need as best you can So

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that everybody gets what they need.

Kathy: 00:12:26

That's the goal that everybody gets what they need

Jon: 00:12:29

so Kathy, let me ask you, if someone either wanted to help one of

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the organizations you work with or wanted to be doing something like you

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do, what advice would you give them

Kathy: 00:12:39

well, I guess my advice would be go where your heart is.

Kathy: 00:12:44

What is your interest?

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You know, we knew our daughter loved animals, so that was so easy to pick.

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Donating for animals so, I would say go where your heart is.

Kathy: 00:12:58

If possible, contact or do a little research on an organization that

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might speak to you and speak to your need for, you know, what you would

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like to do and what their needs are and kind of make them match that way.

Kathy: 00:13:13

Even for folks who might be older, there's senior centers and there's so many

Kathy: 00:13:19

organizations out there that that do such a variety of different things, whether

Kathy: 00:13:24

it's, you know, with like young people or old people or people in, in shelters

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and needing a lot of community resources.

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So that, that would be my advice.

Kathy: 00:13:34

Listen to your heart, try to reach out to an organization, connect, and then see if

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they can put you in touch with someone.

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or tell you what you can do to support them.

Jon: 00:13:49

That's amazing advice that's just fantastic.

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And it's such an honor to to meet you and hear about what you're doing

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and how you're doing it, what got you started and how it's all evolved.

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This has been this has been great.

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So I think what people sometimes, Think, gosh, I need to be professionally

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trained to do some of this or, you know, be part of a specific organization.

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That's not true.

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It's what you said is exactly true.

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What's in your heart and what are the needs out there in the world?

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And there's a way to connect to them, which is fantastic.

Jon: 00:14:19

So thanks Kathy so much for being here and, and sharing your work with us.

Jon: 00:14:23

We really appreciate it.

Kathy: 00:14:25

You're welcome.

Kathy: 00:14:26

And I just want to say, could I just add one more thing?

Kathy: 00:14:29

Absolutely.

Kathy: 00:14:31

About 55 years ago, when I was graduating from high school, my favorite

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teacher, and still to this day, one of my very best and dearest friends,

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she put a quote in my yearbook from a poet, and his name is Edwin Markham.

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And I had not heard of him, but she wrote this, and I can just still

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see the page that she wrote it on.

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And she wrote, There's a destiny that makes us brothers.

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None can go his way alone.

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All that we give to the lives of others comes back into our own.

Kathy: 00:15:07

Now I know I've tried to give a little bit to the lives of others, but man, oh man.

Kathy: 00:15:13

It has come back to me triple fold and I'm very grateful for that.

Jon: 00:15:21

Thank you.

Lauren: 00:15:22

Thank you, Kathy.

Lauren: 00:15:23

It has been so wonderful to have you with us today.

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Your enthusiasm of connecting people is tremendous.

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We also want to thank all who are watching and listening.

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Lauren: 00:15:57

Again, thank you for the gift of your time.

Lauren: 00:16:01

Until next time, peace and blessings.

Jon: 00:16:06

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