Bisbee, second from right, checks in some donated furniture at the warehouse.

Gifts from the heart

When L-R Professor of Biology Dr. John Bisbee and his wife, Carol, then director of music at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, made the decision to turn their lives upside down and spend a year doing full-time volunteer work, neither was at all sure of the outcome. Of course, the pair had always been involved in community volunteer work - Habitat for Humanity, as well as other worthy causes. But that was only on a part-time basis. Now they were talking about a full-time commitment.

Could they afford to do it? They knew it would mean Carol would have to resign from her position at the church and John would have to take a year’s leave of absence from the college. They also knew that whatever charity they chose to support, the charity would offer only room and board, medical insurance and a small stipend.

Could they truly make a difference in the lives of others? They didn’t know that either. "We just knew it was something we had to do," said John.

The couple didn’t go into the endeavor blindfolded, however. Several months were spent in research. Other than the fact that they knew they wanted to be somewhere in the Midwest near close family members, their minds were open to most any opportunity.

Tornado clean-up in SW Minnesota (Bisbee on far left).

Information requests and applications preceded Carol’s visits and interviews with the organizations that most appealed to them. It took about six months to complete all the background work. But, finally, the decision was made and their destination was determined. The Bisbees signed up to work for the Catholic Charities in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, and, in the summer of 1997, they set out on their own special odyssey of discovery.

"Neither of us were assigned to an area that we knew anything about," said John. "Carol went to work in a post adoption office. My year started by working in a used furniture warehouse.

"Carol loved her work right from the start," John said, explaining that she was an intake worker. Her job was to take initial inquiries and counsel both the men and women who were searching for children they had given up for adoption years ago as well as those who had been adopted and were looking for their natural parents.

Although her work was nothing like the work she had done for so many years, John noted, Carol found she was very good at what she was doing. And, of course, each interview and successful search was a source of great satisfaction for her.

John’s work as a used furniture employee was about as far a departure from his work as a college professor as he could get, yet he found it equally satisfying. "Simply stated, we gathered used furniture from people who had plenty of furniture and gave it to people who had little," he explained.

Were there frustrations along the way? Of course, John said, describing their living conditions in a community housing environment that consisted of mostly young single 22- and 23-year-olds doing some volunteer work before going on to take a "real" job in the "real" world. "Middle-aged married folk were definitely not the norm," he said with a chuckle. "But it was okay. We survived."

Another frustration was the lack of reliable equipment. The furniture warehouse, for instance, had only one old truck. And it seemed as if the truck was always in the shop when they needed it!

One day, related John, a man from Nigeria came in and selected some furniture that included a very large sectional. The man had rented a U-haul to get the furniture to his home, but he was afraid to drive the truck. Would John drive it for him?

"Well, we worked out a trade," John said. "Our truck was broken down (again). I needed a truck to pick up some donated furniture. In return, for the use of the truck, I would help get the furniture he selected to his home."

The journey was long and convoluted. It even included a stop at a daycare to pick up the Nigerian man’s children. "It wasn’t easy getting the furniture up three flights of narrow stairs to the man’s home either," John added. "But we did it. And once I saw his home, I could see he needed the furniture. I knew then we clearly were making a difference."

A few days later, the man showed up at the furniture warehouse again, this time for no other reason than to repeat his thanks. "It was such a little thing we did," said John. "But he was SO GRATEFUL."

Later, John was transferred to an office where he spent his time writing grants for the furniture warehouse, working on fundraising projects for a low-income law center, and supporting a community pluralism group. Although different from the warehouse work, these projects, too, had their rewards.

But perhaps the activity of which John is most proud is the role he played in helping to develop a volunteer corps for seniors.

"First, we had to organize a task force to investigate the possibility of creating a senior volunteer corps," explained John. "My role was to organize, take minutes of the meetings, write reports on all the recommendations and then, finally, to develop the program."

The end result of his labors was the formation of a senior volunteer corps of people aged 55 years and older who would commit to a year of half-time work for Catholic Charities. The volunteers would also commit time for reflection upon what the volunteer work had meant in their lives.

After being back home only a few months, the Bisbees learned that funding for the Senior Volunteer Corps was included in the Catholic Charities 1999 budget and that efforts are now being made to hire staff for the program.

"It was a wonderful year," said the Bisbees. There were immediate rewards and great satisfaction, but that is not all. "We have changed," John said. "Our outlook has changed. Carol and I learned we could do different things than we were trained for and do them well. We were the minority, both at work and at our place of residence, but we got along just fine."

And then, most humbly and with a great deal of wonder in his voice, John added, "We learned we don’t need all the things we have. We met so many people with so very little. But they were happy. They were SMILING."

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