Need a reminder that the world is still full of good people? You’re in the right place. Our Volunteer Stories spotlight everyday legends from our community who are out there making a difference, one small act at a time. Whether it’s lending a hand, lifting someone up, or just showing up when it matters most, these stories prove that kindness is contagious. So pour yourself a cup of something absurdly good and let these inspiring tales give you a little boost of faith in humanity.
A portion of every purchase made is donated directly to Crisis Text Line to help provide free mental health resources to anyone in need. Learn about their volunteer opportunities here: https://www.crisistextline.org/volunteer/
Each story is posted anonymously and with the permission of each person. If you have a story you'd like to share, feel free to send it our way: info@topofthemornincoffee.com
Volunteer Story 1:
"I absolutely love this prompt and Top of the Mornin' Coffee! I was a volunteer with Crisis Text Line (CTL) for about a year and I helped on the platform for a little over 100 hours until I got too busy with my masters program. Volunteering for CTL was an invaluable experience. Not only did I get to help others in some of their most dire times, but I got to learn how to be a more empathic and caring person. My goal is to help others, and that is why I am currently getting my masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. CTL provided a space for me to help others, and I got to listen and support folks when no one in their life would. I helped others discover and learn coping skills, assessed for suicidal ideation and self-harm, validated identities and emotions and also supported my fellow texters on the CTL platform. If I had more time I would absolutely continue volunteering. CTL is one of the best organizations I have ever volunteered for, and the community is amazing and so supportive. Even now I recommend CTL to my practicum clients for support between sessions. I am so thankful that Top of the Mornin' supports CTL and helps fuel such a necessary and life-saving organization. Thank you all! :)"
Volunteer Story 2:
"I am currently volunteering for SHOUT, another crisis helpline that does incredible work to help people in time of need. They gave me incredible training and safeguarding training to make sure I am equipped to deal with the toughest of situations. I wanted to volunteer with SHOUT because I myself have been through the toughest, darkest times of my life and wished I had someone to listen to me without judgement. Now, I am here to give that gift of friendliness, encouragement and advocacy for those who really need it.
As a 3rd year Open University student, I have also volunteered to be a mentor for year 1 students to be able to make their time at the OU easier to navigate. The OU does not operate like brick universities do and it can be confusing at first, in my experience also. People join who are parents, have full time jobs, are mature students etc. I really wanted to take part in this because I am a disabled student and would’ve loved a peer to talk to and to help me. I talk with my mentee on a weekly basis and it’s lovely to be able to provide peer support and encourage them through their degree :)"
Volunteer Story 3:
"When I was younger, the town I used to live in was pretty small. For the most part it had a tight knit community. There was an empty lot that had been next to the fire station for years just overgrown with weeds and sagebrush. The city decided they were going to turn it into a small park for the neighborhood (there were no parks in the area). They had reached out letting some community members know (like the boy scouts and 4H groups) they were wanting help and ideas for what to put there. After the lot was cleaned, I went with a volunteer group to help put some grass seed down and plant some trees. It felt like a small thing at the time, it's been almost 20 years and the park is still there and so are the trees I planted and it is STILL the only park in the neighborhood. It makes me feel good to know I helped build something for that community that is still there to this day."
Volunteer Story 4:
"When I used to just assist nurses at the local hospital, I'd just fetch nurses, get drinks, make beds or other small tasks. Until one day a cancer patient used the call button. I answered and she asked for a drink. I brought it and asked how she felt. She said she wanted to just give up and die. I informed the nurse id be busy for a while and they should have the second volunteer there cover me. I went back and sat with her. We discussed my dad and his fight with cancer as well as her own life. When my shift ended I told her i had to go but id love to return for my next shift. She said please do. I sat with her for a week or so straight. My nurses and manager knew i spent my time there and why. If they'd have dismissed me id have sat with her anyway. But they didn't. When she was transferred out of our wing because it was in remission she thanked me for caring. I told her no one should sit alone with those feelings. I never told her no one sat with me when I had them, nor how I swore to never let anyone fight a battle against suicide alone if I could help. I am so glad that the manager and nurses knew what I was doing and let me be there for her.
Even now at my job i am known as one to turn to when someone feels this way or even just anxious. No one suffers alone on my watch."
Volunteer Story 5:
"Crisis Text Line saved my life. A few years ago I was at a really low point in my life. Failing school, hated my job, hated my life. I hate talking on the phone, so when i was thinking of unaliving myself i thought about TOTM and the thing I had read about the text line charity. I googled it and reached out. The person spent an hour texting with me, talking through how I felt, making sure I was safe, that i wasnt near anything I could use to hurt myself. It made me feel heard and was like I was just ranting to a best friend. They made me promise not to hurt myself and to call my psychiatrist the next day, and I did, and I got help. I wouldn't be here today if Crisis Text Line didn't exist."
Volunteer Story 6:
"My volunteer story is actually about my brother who has been dealing with kidney disease since birth. In 2016 when he was only 15 the Make-a-Wish foundation reached out to him due to his kidney function declining and he decided to use his wish to help the local homeless people of New Hampshire.
So instead of a vacation or gaming consol he told Make-a-Wish he just needed then to hug all the supples needed so we could make a ton of care packages at a local church. The community really came together to help put backpacks together. Then as a family we distributed them at a couple homeless shelters in Concord and Manchester NH making sure to hit a Veteran’s home as well. I was only 13 at the time so him choosing that wish not only changed the way Iooked at him but then us doing it as a family I feel has positively kept me on a path of helping others. Now it’s 2025 and he just barely had his kidney transplant and is currently in recovery.
I’m sharing this story because his birthday was April 1st and a lot of people didn’t think he’s was gonna make it to see 24 when he was 15. Not to mention he was the one who got me into Jacksepticeye when we were both in middle school, so for this email to come around this time can’t be a coincidence."
Volunteer Story 7:
"I grew up in whats considered a “small town”. Where everybody knows everyone, crime rarely happened, and neighbors were well.. neighborly. I had decided to make a big change and I moved clear across the country to one of the biggest cities in the United States. I didn’t know a single soul, and I was feeling like the smallest fish in the biggest pond. To be honest, I had thought this grand adventure was going to be one of the greatest moments of my life! But as time went on, I realized not having a strong connection to the community like something I knew back in my hometown, was something I truly missed. So I turned to volunteering! Not only did this allow me to make new connections and get to know so many new people, but I also got the opportunity to make a difference! I started with volunteering at soup kitchens that fed homeless veterans, then assembled grocery bags for those in need, but by far the best experience, was working with habitat for humanity in building a house! With each nail I was placing, I couldn’t help but think about all the memories the family would be making. All the holiday and birthday celebrations, and the peace of mind the family would gain knowing that’d have a place to live through these uncertain times. I’ve never felt so honored to know I had helped be apart of that. That a small fish like myself, helped make the big pond, just a little better."
Volunteer Story 8:
"Hi! I absolutely love that you are taking time to highlight volunteering as it is often thankless but necessary work. I have been volunteering since I was in high school, and I am so proud of the community I've helped build in my county over the last 9 years I've been a volunteer. I started out volunteering with a queer youth program for Planned Parenthood and ended up becoming the facilitator for 5 years. It was such a great time working with youth and providing them not only with important lessons, but also a space to be their authentic selves (which our area is very conservative, so it's so badly needed). I ended up becoming a facilitator at the same time with a now defunct queer adult support group. My colleague who started the group ended up founding what is now the official queer resource center for our county and the hosts of York Pride. I was so privileged to be invited as one of the original board members and co-chair of the Community Engagement Committee--through our work, we created strong partnerships with queer and allied businesses, organizations, and churches within the county and created a clothing drive for disenfranchised folks to get gender affirming clothing, wigs, chest plates, binders, and more. The organization has grown so much over the years and even though I stepped down from my role, I still volunteer yearly for numerous tabling events and pride. I've volunteered with Planned Parenthood as a clinic escort over the years as well as chaperoned events for children with down syndrome and was one of my companies elected bargaining committee reps for the union. I love working with youth, networking, and working for just causes, so it was truly my calling to volunteer and build such long lasting relations and sense of community. At an awards ceremony, the kids at the old program used to tell their doctor all about me and he said they called it the "Bri era." I almost cried.
If this is shared I just want to say that volunteering is so important. People will remember you, and what you do has an impact; so to those of you who are on the fence, please go for it! Many organizations need your help to continue to do critical work in all sectors. Whatever you're passionate about, there is certainly an organization who could use an act of kindness and people to help their mission. Make the phone call; send the text; connect with your community. We need community now more than ever."
Volunteer Story 9:
"The time I've helped someone was my best friend, they struggled with depression and other mental health problems and throughout that time I gave them small gifts and small text messages to remind them that they're loved and worthy of love and to remind them that without them late night talks wouldn't be as fun or as enjoyable."
Volunteer Story 10:
"As someone that is currently in my masters program to be able to become a school counselor, volunteering is super important to me.
My first huge piece of volunteering I have done, I started a volleyball program at a middle school that I went to when I was growing up. My little sister wanted to play volleyball and they no longer had funding for the program, so because I am a club volleyball coach, I helped start, fund and fundraise to begin a middle school volleyball program at my little sister's middle school. I ended up helping run this program for 2 years, until I left for university when I was 20.
My other piece of volunteering that I have done is volunteering for my neighboring schools, to be more involved in the districts that are by me. This involves contributing to school programs around me and volunteering for events and afterschool programs.
I feel like being able to connect with my community and help those younger than me allows for me to be able to help the adults of tomorrow and have a large impact on the future of our society. Volunteering makes me feel amazing and as someone that loves working with kids, being able to help that group and be involved in that community and outreach is amazing."
Volunteer Story 11:
"I started volunteering around 3-4 years ago. I started out just helping out at a local riding stables to help gain confidence because I experienced severe generalized anxiety. Volunteering there also helped me complete the horse care course I was doing at the time! When my time there ended I moved onto volunteering with the RDA (riding for the disabled) I help support disabled youth and adults experience a level of freedom they don't necessarily get in their day to day. i help lead the horses during lessons or I walk alongside the horse and support the rider from the ground. On a Thursday morning I help with their ridden vaulting session as well where I help teach the participants about horse care which they get tested on at the end of term and get a certificate for! I also help them learn their vaulting moves in preparation for competitions. A lot of the people I work with are none verbal or have limb weakness, but with my and my fellow rda volunteers support they have flourished and watching them improve is nothing short of fulfilling."
Volunteer Story 12:
"On Wednesday, April 2nd, Lake City, Arkansas and Monette (moh-net) Arkansas (where I am from) were struck by an EF3 tornado. It came straight for us and we barely made it into our neighbor's storm shelter in time.
Many people lost their homes. We were out of power for 4 days. Thankfully, we did not lose our home, but it did hit the edge of our town and the homes right next to us suffered some damage.
During the next couple of days, we were rained on- we have since been under a flood warning, severe thunderstorms have continued, and we were still under the threat of more tornadoes.
We had bags at the ready and our kitties were terrified to be put into their crates at every sound of the sirens. We were lucky to not be struck again despite reports of tornadoes headed our way.
All of this to say that I have lived here for many years and have never seen such support for our small communities before. It was wonderful! Thousands of linemen and women working day and night to restore power, tree removal companies offering their services to remove uprooted trees for free, and even Ritter Communications setting up stations where you could charge your devices for free- and be offered a warm blanket and water.
Food vendors/trucks coming to town to offer free meals to the volunteers and workers during lunch and dinner. Two in particular are called La Brisa's and Dad's BBQ, which has been visiting our town of Monette almost every Friday. They offered free meals to anyone in need.
On social media, there were so many people asking where they could drop off donations of food, water, clothing, etc. Lake City and Monette City Hall posted locations for those in need and for volunteers to show up to.
In the photos online, you could see nearly everyone in our community volunteering to help clean up debris, help pass out meals to workers and those in need, and helping those who lost their homes search through the wreckage. Not to mention, regular people who helped the fire department search for people trapped under debris.
It was amazing to see our little communities rally together to support one another.
The news has said we suffered catastrophic damage. We've seen the videos online and we've seen in person some of the damage. It was terrifying. Now our town is rebuilding. Though they had just built new storm shelters a year or two ago, our mayor has said he will be building even more.
Through the historic rainfall, thunderstorms, and threat of more tornadoes, people in our community rushed to help and volunteer their time and energy for their fellow neighbors in the aftermath.
My faith in humanity has been restored some. ❤️"
Volunteer Story 13:
"My Volunteer story is about a time when I helped out a Youth soccer coach who was sick, he was the only coach of the team and when his youth team found out that they weren’t going to practice due to their coaches sickness they all got sad and upset because they really wanted to play, I volunteered to coach the team for as long as the coach needed to rest, i helped out for 2 weeks and led the team to 3 wins out of 3 games. The players were delighted and coach was extremely grateful, it turned out that the sickness the coach has was actually some sort of disease which made him have to rest for longer, I volunteered for 2 more weeks which added up to a month and only lost 1 out of 7 games during that time, the coach came back super healthy and haooy and ready to coach and when he came back the players got a little sad because they said they wanted me to still coach them and that they were gonna miss me, the coach saw how genuine the children were and asked me if I wanted a full time coaching position. This made me realize how much just a small bit of support and help can make a huge difference, delighted with the offer I said yes! And I’m still coaching them to this day and we’re still on winning terms!"
Volunteer Story 14:
"I got to volunteer for FFA which is Future Farmers of America after I left high School and I helped them set up their booth and help them raise money continuously to help be able to give kids scholarships to colleges that they want to to further advance their agricultural career it felt amazing and every year they donate thousands of dollars to kids of Rhode Island, also I was in high school I had a chance to build a house for habit for humanity so a family could have a affordable really nice house"
Volunteer Story 15:
"I'm a LONG time volunteer at public libraries - ever since I was 9 years old I have helped with story times, computers, teen events, shelving, storytelling, programing (that's events for all ages), getting materials for the community through fundraising efforts or asking businesses directly, website building, working the desk, and everything else a small, medium, and larger library (or later, library system) needs to run smoothly. In high school alone, I had over 10000 hours of community service hours (all volunteer work) and over 90% of that was at the local library. Most recently, since I am fully disabled now, and can no longer work, I have been volunteering to do storytimes or storytelling on occasion, and helped do a St Patrick's Day storytime program for kids (over 50 kids came, and we had a ton of fun) and I even taught them a few words of Irish Gaelic (Hello, Goodbye, and the word for Potatoes, since we did the story Jamie O'Rourke and the Giant Potato).
The very first library I volunteered at, I got them the first public computers they ever had, built the computer network, got the first public WiFi in a three county area (pre-McDonalds or Starbucks days - back in about 2000), and built a 500+ page website, with well over 50,000 external links (that I had to check worked every month) for a community that did not have the money to have these things on their own - a town that had less than 2000 people, despite being the county seat. The website attracted the attention of several larger donors over time (Angel donors) from outside the community, as well as some other groups, like larger libraries outside the state, who reached out to me, as the webmaster, to ask about the library and the size of the community - and to ask if I would build them sites (which I did for some and declined for others). Sadly, when I left the area that library was in (due to personal reasons unrelated to the library - escaping an abusive situation after a VERY long time), the library was unable to maintain the computer and web presence and has since gone to a single webpage, that is just an About Us page, hosted by the library system they belong to. The public computers had to be re-networked after they were moved and the network crashed (something I had warned them would happen if they unplugged certain devices) and they had to pay a large amount to get everything back up and running, which made the community very unhappy. Over time, I saved that library thousands upon thousands of dollars, and got them six public computers total, as well as a $8000 network laser printer (value at the time). I ran storytimes, storytelling, and programing for adults and teens for over 15 years all told at that library as well, before I left. I have continued to do volunteer storytelling and storytimes (storytimes are when you read books, storytelling is when you tell stories without books - both have other activities as well, such as crafts, music, and movement elements too) at other libraries, but the first library I started at was the one I was at the longest.
I am in my early 40's now, just as a frame of reference. (Since I stated I started volunteering when I was 9 - I've been volunteering for over 30 years now, even though I've been too disabled to work for the last 10 - volunteering takes less time and I can do it remotely, or via computer, if need be, though usually I can manage the one day I need to for a program in my wheelchair, unless I am in the hospital - I have a lot of immune system issues, as well as my legs and spine being damaged, so I get infections a lot.)"
