Meet Jay - volunteer extraordinaire
Jay Schmuhl started volunteering at the Fargo Salvation Army in 2014 as a way to fill his day and help him “feel good.” But it’s not about that any longer. He now volunteers because he genuinely wants others to feel good.
Jay’s story began when he first moved to Fargo five years ago. He was unable to work due to health problems with his hips, so he started looking around for places to volunteer. He stopped by the Fargo Salvation Army and learned about several opportunities.
Then a funny thing happened: Not only did the Fargo Salvation Army provide Jay with volunteer opportunities, we also offered to send a group of volunteers to help him move. At the time, he needed to find a new place to live because he was about to undergo surgery on both of his hips. This act of kindness sold him on The Salvation Army.
With that, Jay started volunteering in the kitchen with food prep and meal serving. Over time, he began to take on more roles, such as:
- Answering phone calls
- Decorating the Fargo Salvation Army for seasonal and special events
- Organizing and cleaning the Activities Center
- Driving for the Christmas kettle bell routes
- Becoming the go-to individual for help with large Salvation Army events
In 2015, Jay become a Salvation Army disaster volunteer. He has since been deployed to Victoria, Texas in 2017 for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, including serving meals from a mobile kitchen, warehousing, and logistics. In 2018 he was deployed to Apalachicola, Fla. to provide emotional, spiritual care for the victims and survivors of Hurricane Michael.
Jay continues to volunteer because he knows there are many people who don’t have a supportive family or can’t get the help they need – and The Salvation Army provides that support and help to those in places of crisis.
The Fargo Salvation Army is grateful to have Jay on mission with us. Without people like him, we would not be able to do the most good.