Frank Ramirez – Nappanee Boys & Girls Club

For Frank Ramirez, Volunteering is Living

“I don’t really have a favorite moment as a volunteer,” says Frank Ramirez, Board President for the Nappanee chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Elkhart County. “To me, one important thing about mentoring kids is that it’s not really about having some earth-shaking inspiration, or some type of breakthrough moment with a kid you’re working with. I’ve learned over the years that being a good mentor is all about the ordinary; it’s about just being there with them, being reliable, being present, and attentive.

Most of the time it’s not very dramatic, but it’s extraordinarily important.

I’m the Nappanee Board President for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Elkhart County. I’d been mentoring kids in local public schools since coming back to Indiana in 2014, and at some point it just felt like a no-brainer to start helping out at the Nappanee Boys & Girls Club. I’d been on the board for a few years, but I started to realize that my best skills weren’t in fundraising or crunching numbers.

Some days are certainly more exciting than others.

Last year I got to teach the kids a bit about beekeeping; I brought some of the equipment into the club so they could learn about it up-close and they got to try some local honey. It was a lot of fun, and a good experience for the kids. It was fun for me, too, but for me volunteering isn’t something I’m in for fun, or to feel good about myself. There’s nothing I’m trying to get out of this experience. That’s the beauty of it for me. For me it’s all about service; as it says in Matthew 25, we are out to serve the least of these, because the stakes are enormous but great things happen in ways we never expect.”

Confident, capable, caring kids is the goal

“I don’t know if volunteering has improved my life. I don’t really think of it like that. For me, volunteering is my life. Life does not make sense to me without volunteering, without giving back, and I feel blessed to be a part of this organization.

Everyone needs a safe place where they can be who they are without judgment, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Elkhart County fill that need. And it’s such an important investment in our communities. We want kids to know they matter; we want to teach kids to be self-confident and believe in themselves, regardless of what they experience elsewhere. We want them to know, without any doubt, that they’re good enough to accomplish great things; anything they set their minds to do. We want them to know where they come from, to be proud of where they come from, and to come out of all these years of love and care at the Boys & Girls Club with a strong desire to pass on this sense of caring to the next generation.”