Armed with a friendly smile and a stylish pair of shoes, Eric Edwards spends much of his free time volunteering around central Ohio.
He first discovered his passion for volunteering while working at Nationwide Insurance. The company offered an incentive to its employees who participated in community service, and he decided to give it a try by volunteering with The Salvation Army and March of Dimes.
Photos courtesy of Eric Edwards and Bonnie Cram
edwards - march for babies
Edwards, who makes friends easily due to his bubbly personality, met a woman while he was volunteering with March of Dimes who asked if he would consider volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters in Columbus. He agreed and later went on to volunteer with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective as well. From then on it was clear – Edwards had caught the community service fever.
While looking for more volunteering opportunities, Edwards stumbled upon the Chilly Chili Mile and decided to sign up as a volunteer. It was there he met Healthy New Albany Volunteer Coordinator Bonnie Cram. The two hit it off instantly, becoming fast friends. Edwards started volunteering at Healthy New Albany’s food pantry and The New Albany Walking Classic®.
“He really takes the initiative when he’s volunteering,” Cram says. “He doesn’t just wait for someone to say, ‘Okay, why don’t you go and do this.’ He has a good vibe and makes everyone feel good around him.”
Cram says through volunteering at the Healthy New Albany food pantry and wellness events, Edwards has also been able to inspire others to make healthier choices in their lives.
“He definitely pushes the healthy items and different ideas of what they can make with the different healthy options and he volunteers at our races,” Cram says. “(He’s) very enthusiastic about cheering people on, making sure they finish and making sure they keep walking or running.”
edwards and friends
Not only does Edwards’ community service efforts help benefit the health of the people he serves, it also benefits Edwards’ mental health greatly. As someone who works a full-time job, he can deal with a lot of stress, and using his spare time to serve others helps to alleviate some of it.
“I can volunteer to decompress because I’m seeing something completely different (from) what I’m seeing normally every single day,” he says. “Don’t let the stress of this job get to you…let’s have you do something that’s going to take your mind out of this realm and put it on to something different.”
Knowing the positive impacts volunteer work has had on his well-being, he encourages his coworkers to participate as well. He has even gone as far as introducing Besa, a local organization that helps connect charitable organizations with volunteers, to his company.
“I feel like everybody else wants to (volunteer) but they just don’t have the time to do it, and you know volunteering is about making that time, and it’s putting forth that effort,” Edwards says.
Two other organizations that Edwards volunteers with, the Arthritis Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Association, support causes that affect Edwards personally. Edwards has arthritis and his uncle has Alzheimer's. Volunteering and getting involved with these organizations helped Edwards better understand these conditions. His genuine interest in the organizations helps keep him motivated and avoid burnout.
edwards - ronald mcdonald house
“For anybody that’s out there volunteering, look at what the mission is and (see) if you can identify with some of the things that they’re doing,” Edwards says.
Another organization that he is passionate about volunteering with is 934 Gallery in the Milo Arts District, as he supports the gallery’s mission of fostering art in the community as a way to bring people together while making creating and appreciating art.
“I literally love what we’re able to do for (artists),” he says. “It’s a safe space where they can come and just be themselves, and then collaborate with other like-minded individuals.”
What really makes Edwards a great volunteer is how he treats everyone with respect and has a lively sense of humor, always laughing and cracking jokes, says Cram. Over time, both Cram and Edwards himself have seen the impact he has made in New Albany by being a friend to every new person he meets while donating his time and efforts.
“A lady (at the food bank) said, ‘I appreciate I can come in here and not be judged,’ and I said, ‘Let me tell you something, the last thing anybody should be doing is judging somebody for coming in here out of a need because at the end of the day, they could be in your shoes too,” he says. “I told her, ‘It doesn’t take much to have a fall from grace. You can be up here but you can fall down quickly and the last thing you need is somebody to come and make you feel less than important.’”
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
