Robin is gone for the week so the task of writing this column falls to me. For most who know me I will never turn down an opportunity to talk about the volunteer spirit of our community. There is no doubt that our time of isolation has affected our community as well as the nation. I have never met so many angry people who are not only certain they are absolutely right in everything they believe but curse, spit or assault others who dare to think differently. And although this is what I have seen and what we have all seen in the general media, I have found true hope in the volunteers of this community who are coming out in force to help others. Throughout the pandemic we have been a drop off spot for the Bailey Center food bank. There have been so many of you who have dropped off food here at the office, and at the center. As the center’s need increased from serving about 200 to serving over 1,000, you all stepped up with more food. The Church of Latter-day Saints brought food and volunteers, CVHS Robotics 589 held regular food drives and when they needed a handcart to get the pallets of food from the truck to the kitchen Chris Waldheim and J’s Maintenance provided it for them. People have contacted me with clothes, food, refrigerators and freezers—all items the center needed. Kids from CVHS Instrumental Music and Prom Plus Club with the help of the American Legion Post 288/VFW Post 1614 gathered over 300 toys for the Glendale police toy drive. It has amazed me how many generous and thoughtful people have stepped up to help others, without asking about political beliefs they just helped. I am the mentor for CVHS Prom Plus Club. I have to be honest this year and a half has tested my optimism and my faith but these young PPC members have inspired and renewed my soul. These kids struggled with isolation, like most kids, but they constantly asked me when they could get back to helping the community. They dealt with fears of the virus infecting their family, friends and themselves. They dealt with the new learning curve of virtual classrooms, and  are now getting used to in-person classes again. They have their concerns about what the last year and a half meant to their school grade point average, what it will mean for college applications and just in general getting used to being social again. They are still worried as the Delta variant drives higher COVID numbers, take comfort they are vaccinated and worry about those that are not. With all of these concerns they still ask every day about volunteer opportunities. They take pride in helping others and feel the responsibility of citizenship to support their community. So despite what I may face as a reporter in the field, despite what I hear in the national media of discourse and despair these kids inspire me. They teach me how to be humble, how to be more accepting and most of all how to hopeful. So when you see a volunteer at the Home Town Country Fair, or any of the bingo events take time to thank them, let them know you appreciate what they do and then sit back and watch them work—I guarantee you will be inspired as well.