The other hourly ‘workers’
Some of America’s most important hourly workers aren’t even paid. And no, we’re not talking about bad street mimes.
We’re referring to our army of volunteer workers. And if you ever said to yourself, “Come on, I’m just one person. I can’t make a difference!” Well, you were wrong.
Chew on this: For 2006, the average hour of volunteer work was valued at $18.77, according to Independent Sector, the leadership forum for charities, foundation and corporate giving. That would be an hourly salary of nearly $40K. Not too shabby.
We bring this up to honor one occupation in particular – volunteer firefighters. They endure everything from sleepless nights to three-alarm farmhouse blazes and the numbing sting of the Sept. 11 attacks. And now they’re battling forest fires that have already torched a half million acres of California trees, homes and lives.
You may be surprised to hear this, but volunteers make up nearly 75 percent of America’s one million-plus firefighters. That’s a total that’s decreased by as much as 10 percent in the past 20 years.
But their tales of heroism and survival have not diminished. Take the story of a dozen volunteer firefighters who were trapped on a rocky hill by raging forest fires in California’s Orange County on Monday night. With their hose burned through and white hot embers nipping at their faces, the firefighters quickly covered themselves with fireproof contraptions called shake ‘n’ bakes. And they survived to tell their tale and live another adventure.
If you’ve got a few free minutes, but aren’t up for suiting up in heavy gear and climbing ladders, try a little rain dance when no one is looking. Or better yet, make a donation to the displaced families. They need all the help they can get.
