The Ripple Effect: Alumna’s “Model of Giving” Inspires Others to Serve
Barbara Rich believes in giving back. From the rain forest of Costa Rica and the Atlantic coast of Ghana to the plains of Minnesota and the “hollers” of West Virginia, the Massachusetts retiree credits her Global Volunteers service with keeping her informed and engaged with the world. At age 90, she’s registered to serve migrants at the Texas border in 2025. And, she’s passionate about encouraging others to give back. She explains how her neighbor walks in her footsteps. Follow her ripples here.
“Global Volunteers has changed my life on all levels,” Barbara asserts. I learned so much from local volunteers, from doing what was hard for me, and from taking the risk, each time, to get way out of my comfort zone,” adding: “I’ve grown immeasurably from each, been astonished, able to adjust and adapt, and to apply what I learned to my everyday life.”
For this reason, Barbara’s been a consistent promoter of volunteer service with friends and family. “I always describe how each program was different and how it’s increased my awareness of other people’s reality in unexpected ways.” She cited stories that are front-and-center in her memory. “From rescuing a cow which had fallen down a hill by tying ropes around her and hauling her up, to flushing the toilet with buckets of water we lugged from outside hoses, to sleeping in a dorm-type room with 25 bunk beds, to goats which wandered in and out of the classrooms due to the lack of walls. Each program involves being open to the needs of the community we are serving, even when we don’t understand what we don’t understand.”
After some time, neighbor Crissey Safford imagined herself benefiting from such a broadened global perspective. The women have lived next door each other for 25 years and share a love of cats, gardening and travel. Both have volunteered in the community: Barbara as a facilitator in the Alternatives to Violence prison program, and co-leader of a local interfaith council; Crissey at a shelter for abused women, a horseback riding program for children with special needs, in addition to Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica and Peru.
“Barbara is a discerning traveler and a close friend who praised Global Volunteers. That was enough for me. She lives her life in service to others, and in that regard, is a role model of giving for me. I’m constantly aware of the importance of giving back because of her example.”
“I’ve grown immeasurably from each (program), been astonished, able to adjust and adapt, and to apply what I learned to my everyday life.”
Alumni Volunteer Barbara Rich
Crissey said she was lamenting a “too-long hiatus of service work” in her life, cut short during the pandemic. “I’m blessed with a happy life, with all my needs more than taken care of, and feel an affinity for those who struggle to make ends meet. I decided to serve in Puerto Rico where it’d be warm in the winter month of March. I wanted to experience a Spanish-speaking venue that is part of the United States, although it feels like a foreign culture.”
Barbara said she wasn’t surprised when Crissey quickly soaked up the weather, culture and hospitality of Puerto Rico. “She’s been ecstatic about the people she met since she’s returned,” Barbara extolled.
(Crissey bags vegetables at the food shelf, left)
More than the qualities drawing tourists to the island year-round, Crissey said she greatly valued the opportunity to genuinely help improve local people’s lives through her personal contributions on the newly established Global Volunteers Puerto Rico Service Program.
“I spent time at the food bank cutting up vegetables for meal preparation in Aguada, and cleaning toys and windows at the children’s home, Hogar – both well-organized and managed facilities. We provided support in showing these venues that fellow Americans (are) willing to be available to work alongside them.”
In the evenings, the team offered English language tutoring to local people who wanted to improve their fluency. “The young man, and a woman with her 2 children (who participated) provided examples of people who were intent on bettering their situations and striving to enhance their lives.”
Crissey was surprised by the conditions at her work sites. “I expected I’d be in areas of obvious and abject poverty, similar to what I had experienced in Costa Rica and Peru. Instead I saw crowded roadways with recent-model cars, well-kept homes, and well-stocked grocery, pharmacy, and convenience stores.” She’s aware of plans to widen the scope of Global Volunteers’ reach in the region – where volunteers will work one-on-one with children and families in impoverished areas.
To better understand the struggles of “average people,” Crissey and her teammates participated in discussions with their Puerto Rican team leader, Yanira (Yani) Ocasio and her husband Luis. “We learned about the country’s poverty and sub-par living conditions in our orientation session,” she offered. “For instance, the 40 percent unemployment rate and $15K average annual income were statistics which were not evident in our daily travels. I’m grateful for this information. A shout-out to Yani. She is a beautiful soul who lives and breathes giving to her native land. She leads with a quiet and open hand and heart.”
“I would anticipate that in the coming years, more work sites will be identified and tasks will vary,” Crissey elaborated. “The fewer expectations one brings to a project, the greater the chance for adaptation to the actual daily schedule.”
Both women agree on personal qualities for contributing to and gaining the most from a Global Volunteers service program. “Flexibility is most important when a project is newly developing, suggested Crissey. Barbara added: “Volunteers must be flexible, curious and not tied to rules and expectations. If you are not emotionally flexible, better to stay home or go be a tourist.” She said she greatly appreciates the “comforts of home, work and family,” but also seeks “ways to tackle what may be hard. I trust myself to deal successfully with the unknowable.”
“It’s nothing like being a tourist. It involves putting your own needs aside, being humble about not knowing, and letting in the possibility that life is unpredictable.”
Alumni Volunteer Barbara Rich
Barbara said she’s comfortable referring friends who fit this description to Global Volunteers, because of the impact her experiences has had on her personal growth. “Getting outside my comfort zone has made me more able to accept what I don’t understand, what I don’t prefer and what I least expected. I trust myself to be able to deal with the unexpected more now that I have traveled with Global Volunteers.” That’s why she was so pleased when Crissey decided to follow in her footsteps on a team of her own.
“There’s nothing comparable to a Global Volunteers experience,” Barbara insists. “It’s nothing like being a tourist. It involves putting your own needs aside, being humble about not knowing, and letting in the possibility that life is unpredictable. At my age, my accomplishments include staying healthy, teaching meditation & yoga, having authentic, loving relationships with family and old friends. I try to learn something new as often as possible. My next service program will be to Texas, while Crissey wants to go to Cuba. But I always remember: Change happens!”
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