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On Volunteering with Kathy Lochary
Episode 11 • 20th August 2023 • Listening for Clues • On the Journey with Jon & Lauren
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On Volunteering with Kathy Lochary

We are honored to have Kathy Lochary from Baltimore, MD. Kathy speaks about how a personal tragedy helped her find a way to give to others. She is a humble, generous person who has worked for years to connect people with others in need.

Highlights:

00:00 On Volunteering with Kathy Lochary

00:21 Introduction

01:10 How Kathy Got Involved

06:46 Making a Difference

07:59 Any Surprises?

09:21 Being a Worker Bee

10:33 Obstacles Lead to Adaptation

12:49 Advice for Others Who Want to Help

14:46 A Favorite Poem, A Lifetime Inspiration

15:41 Thanks

Listening for Clues is pleased to present our new series, "Good News!" featuring weekly conversations with people who are making a difference, large or small. We want everyone to know what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how. So, our listeners and viewers can experience the good news and go out and make a difference themselves.

Listening for Clues invites you into conversations that discover clues, rather than solutions to life’s problems. Join the journey with Jon Shematek and Lauren Welch, Episcopal deacons, as we explore whatever lies ahead. Check our website Listening for Clues.

© 2023 Listening for Clues

Transcripts

Jon:

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

Lauren:

We are Lauren Welch and Jon Shematek, deacons in the

Lauren:

Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

Jon:

We sure are.

Jon:

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

Jon:

special guest, Kathy Lochary.

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

friends, volunteering, hiking.

Jon:

Crocheting and Zumba.

Jon:

Welcome, Kathy.

Kathy:

Thank you.

Kathy:

It's good to be here.

Lauren:

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

Lauren:

I know that you do a lot of volunteering.

Lauren:

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

Kathy:

You know,

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

corner pub that didn't have a lot.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

for all the people she worked with too.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

organization, find out what they needed.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

for folks, men, women, and children.

Kathy:

at the two Baltimore County organizations.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

her need, and we got talking.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

are part of a group that we belong to.

Kathy:

And I thought that they'll help out.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

and then included treats and...

Kathy:

little games and puzzles and toys.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

opened up after the pandemic.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

So that was the first Christmas.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

that needed to be delivered.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

flyers that my friend would post.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

So that was pretty cool.

Kathy:

And then along came Easter.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

baskets if they weren't already assembled.

Kathy:

And then we assisted in delivering.

Kathy:

A truck full of Easter baskets.

Kathy:

And we are just a part of that donation.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

to bring it to these two organizations.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

get it down to whoever needed it.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

you do a little and I do a little.

Kathy:

And somebody else does a little.

Kathy:

Before you know it, you got a truck full.

Kathy:

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

Jon:

Wow, that, that is great, Kathy.

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

legged fur babies at the animal shelter.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Lauren:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

believe in people, and they are generous.

Kathy:

And when you ask...

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

group and and then even another organization Contact from that said

Kathy:

well, we have a box of extra toiletries.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

It just fills me up because people are very generous.

Kathy:

And and I think the organizations are very grateful.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Lauren:

well you're developing relationships with a lot of different

Lauren:

people that some of them you haven't met

Kathy:

yet, . Right?

Kathy:

Right.

Kathy:

Or you

Lauren:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

been talking to some folks.

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

People's resources.

Jon:

You're really helping to bring that all together.

Jon:

Is that right?

Jon:

Do I have that right?

Kathy:

I, I think that's true, Jon.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

somebody that might need it.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

so and so might like to read.

Kathy:

Let me ask if they want this book.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

That's an accurate statement.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

Yeah.

Jon:

The world needs the worker bees in the background.

Jon:

You make everything happen.

Jon:

Yeah.

Jon:

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

Jon:

or things that have been harder to do?

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

participation and sometimes maybe the only bump would be getting the

Kathy:

right quantity of certain items.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

consider that that's not a bad thing.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

you go forward the next year.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

fill up the stockings.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

and such, so many items, such and such.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

move forward to, to get a little better.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

at the list that the shelter sent.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

they don't need blankets right now.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

that everybody gets what they need.

Kathy:

That's the goal that everybody gets what they need

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

do, what advice would you give them

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

What is your interest?

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

and needing a lot of community resources.

Kathy:

So that, that would be my advice.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

they can put you in touch with someone.

Kathy:

or tell you what you can do to support them.

Jon:

That's amazing advice that's just fantastic.

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

This has been this has been great.

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

That's not true.

Jon:

It's what you said is exactly true.

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

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

Jon:

We really appreciate it.

Kathy:

You're welcome.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

Absolutely.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

see the page that she wrote it on.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

None can go his way alone.

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Kathy:

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

Jon:

Thank you.

Lauren:

Thank you, Kathy.

Lauren:

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

Lauren:

Your enthusiasm of connecting people is tremendous.

Lauren:

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

Lauren:

We cannot spread good news without your participation.

Lauren:

Please take a moment.

Lauren:

Like, comment, and share on all your social media platforms.

Lauren:

That will help us to spread good news to even more people.

Lauren:

Again, thank you for the gift of your time.

Lauren:

Until next time, peace and blessings.

Jon:

Good news is being brought to you by Listening for Clues.

Jon:

You can find us on our website.

Jon:

listeningforclues.

Jon:

com, our YouTube channel, our Vimeo channel, and just about every

Jon:

podcast platform that there is.

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