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Volunteering - A Real Blessing
 "It's contagious."
That's one way to describe being a volunteer at a Promise Keepers men's conference.
"There are a group of eight women from Rhode Island who drove to the Albany, N.Y. event and stayed in a hotel on their own dime, just to be a part of the Promise Keepers volunteer team," said Thom Tougas, Promise Keepers' national director of Event Services. "The year before, they served at the Long Island conference."
On a recent conference call with Thom and his team, two of his lieutenants, Patrick McKinney and Larry Whittlesey, seemed almost giddy over the fun they have organizing legions of enthusiastic volunteers.
"I promise people that volunteers will get more out of the event than the men who attend as conferees," said Whittlesey. "After the conference they always come up to me and say, 'You were right.'"
"We were all created to serve God, whether or not we are Christians," said McKinney, a former firefighter. "In the miserable heat or windy cold of some of our conferences, volunteers tell me over and over, 'I've had the best time of my life.' No matter the conditions, serving others touches the heart."
LOCAL OWNERSHIP - LOCAL IMPACT
Partnering with Promise Keepers, local and state organizations take a sense of ownership in the events in their city.
"We had a challenge with the Spanish translation effort in Columbus last year," remembered Whittlesey. "The Ohio Men of Integrity guys from the Cleveland area showed up with an entire team of volunteer translators. I know they'll be involved in the Cincinnati conference this year as well."
"Don't forget the Florida Men of Integrity," chimed in Tougas.
"And Teen Challenge, too," said McKinney. "They show up in many conference cities, year after year. And after they're done helping with tents or chairs or whatever needs doing, they sit together for the conference. Some of the guys who have been procrastinating with their spiritual walk even make a commitment to Jesus Christ."
For years a force for biblical unity, Promise Keepers volunteer teams pull together workers from far and wide.
"Milwaukee is a city with lots of barriers," recalls McKinney. "But there I saw African-American and White and Hispanic women thrown together from their different lifestyles and cultures. And all of a sudden relationships begin. God uses those weekends to meld the community together. When Promise Keepers returns years later, they're still together, sometimes as best friends."
"Can you tell that we don't like our jobs? We love our jobs."
SOMETHING BIGGER
 Another way to describe the attraction of volunteering with Promise Keepers: being part of something bigger than themselves.
Now an event director, Larry was a volunteer himself years ago. "In 1996, I met Evorial at the Eugene, Oregon conference. She and I met literally on Saturday morning, in a dumpster, stomping down cardboard. That's teamwork!"
"I often wondered why Promise Keepers volunteers work so long and hard over the three days of the conference, regardless of the weather," notes Whittlesey. "It doesn't matter if they're driving to the airport multiple times in the rain, or entering names in the database for hours. They realize that they get to be part of something really important that is changing men's lives."
By the way, Evorial still works at Promise Keepers events.
Maybe one of the 635 volunteer job openings is waiting for you?
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