It was Christmas Day; an elderly woman was home all alone, sick and in bed when a beautiful angel appeared before her.

The old woman asked the angel to sit down on the bed so she could touch the angel.

“What a special gift to touch an angel on Christmas Day,” said the woman.

The angel who appeared on this very special Christmas Day was Mary Kitchell, a Story County volunteer. Kitchell, who is a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, was out delivering food to those who were spending the holidays alone.

“I have really light blonde hair and the woman thought I was an angel,” said Kitchell. “I tried to tell her that I wasn’t, but she said ‘Oh no, you are an angel,’ so I played along.”

Kitchell sat with the woman for awhile and let the woman stroke her hair.

“After I left her I felt peaceful,” said Kitchell. Kitchell said the feeling stayed with her for weeks afterward. She added that it was one of the most rewarding experiences she has ever had in all her years of volunteering.

Kitchell has been a volunteer all her life. “I’ve been a volunteer as long as I can remember,” she said.

She said her parents were volunteers and she grew up with the belief that volunteering was just something “you did.”

While attending college, Kitchell’s schedule did not allow her to do a lot of volunteering. But she did manage to become involved with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, she said.

Once Kitchell left college, she said, she was awakened to the startling fact that real life is much different than college life.

“Real life is very difficult; there is so much going on in real life that you can’t learn in lecture or lab,” she said.

Kitchell said she encourages college students to volunteer because they can learn a great deal about the “real world” through volunteering. “Plus, I know how much of an impact [college students] can make,” she said.

Kitchell said she volunteers at Mary Greeley Medical Center once a week.

She added that the patients become ecstatic when they know a student is coming to visit. They are thrilled the students are interested in them, she said.

Andrea Cronin, a senior in psychology and a volunteer for Riverside Manor, an Ames nursing home, said she has learned more from her volunteer experiences than she could ever learn from books.

Cronin has been a volunteer since high school; however, she said volunteering was not a big part of her life until last year.

“I have a friend who volunteers time at a nursing home playing the piano.

“Last year, I went along with and I saw what an impact my friend made on [those living in the home] and this inspired me to do the same,” Cronin said.

Cronin said college students are so consumed with classes and other activities, they often do not realize what is going on in the world around them.

“We don’t realize how lonely the elderly are and how thrilled they are when younger people come to visit them,” she said.

Volunteering also gives college students a break from studies.

“It allows you to get away from campus,” Cronin said.

Amy Collins, a senior in journalism and mass communication and public relations co-director for the ISU Volunteer Placement Center, stressed the importance volunteerism can have with employers.

“More and more volunteer work is just as important on a resume as professional experience,” she said.

However, Collins said the ultimate reason someone should volunteer is the incredible rewards gained by both the recipient and volunteer.

Cronin said many college students seek out volunteer positions because of the resume value they hold.

But she hopes they realize “volunteering is not just a resume-builder.”

“You can make a real difference in a person’s life,” she said.

Kitchell said volunteering has allowed her to keep in touch with people of all ages.

“I have learned so much about other people,” Kitchell said. “It has broadened my horizons.”

Dorothy Sielert, a retired school nurse, also has found volunteering to be the secret to staying young. She volunteers at Edwards Elementary in Ames, teaching first-grade students about health.

Sielert said when she retired in 1981, she wanted to stay active.

“I had worked in the public all my life and saw a need for volunteers.

“So I thought to myself, ‘Hey, I can do that,'” Sielert said.

Ever since her retirement, Sielert she has been an extremely active volunteer.

In addition to her work at Edwards, Sielert volunteers at the hospital, her church and anyplace else that may need her services.

“I especially like my first-graders,” Sielert said.

As part of her work with the Edwards Elementary first-grade class, Sielert talks about the importance of a hug and what a hug means.

Sielert said some of the children do not know what hugs are, but by the end of the year they do and she is flooded with hugs from all of her students.

“I really enjoy what I am doing. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it,” she said.

The only time Sielert was not able to volunteer was when she had a feet operation.

“It’s kind of hard to volunteer when you can’t get around,” Sielert said.

Sielert would like to be able to go around teaching health to all the local elementary schools, but she said there is “simply not enough time in the day.”

“I just love (the first-grade students at Edwards Elementary). They are so responsive and willing to learn,” she said.

Sielert said volunteering is a rewarding experience.

“Volunteering is often more rewarding to the person doing the volunteering,” she said.

Cronin agreed, saying, “It gives you an opportunity to learn so much.”

A few years ago, Cronin said, she volunteered to work at a Thanksgiving dinner for those who were spending the holiday alone. She said it was an eye-opening experience for her.

“I never thought of people who didn’t have big families and big meals for Thanksgiving,” she said.

During the holidays, many people will be inspired to help others by volunteering, but volunteers are needed year round.

At ISU, Cronin became involved in volunteering through the ISU Volunteer Placement Center.

The ISU Volunteer Placement Center works with a number of local agencies to recruit volunteers and has established seven areas for volunteer service.

These areas include Administrative Placement, Crisis Intervention/Prevention, Disabled, Elderly, Environmental and Preschool and Youth.

“We have volunteer opportunities ranging from on-campus and student group volunteer positions to a wide variety of community based non-profits,” Collins said.

To learn more about how to become a volunteer, stop by the ISU Volunteer Placement Center located in the East Student Office Space of the Memorial Union or call (515) 294-5254.