Thank you, Jamil!

At the Extreme Stream Makeover in Newport News we encountered an unlikely volunteer who turned out to be one of our most dedicated.

 Early Monday morning, we were registering volunteers at our “home base” in the K-Mart parking lot when a quiet, lanky teenager in low-slung pants rode his a bicycle up to the registration table, asked what we were doing… and could he have some of the food we’d set out for breakfast. “If you volunteer,” we told him. And to our surprise, he signed up!



ESM volunteer Jamil Lee takes a break during a trash cleanup.



Jamil Lee worked the morning shift planting a large rain garden at Stoney Run Athletic Complex, although he didn’t work too hard, ate lunch, then worked the afternoon shift. At the end of the day we figured we’d seen the last of him. But bright and early Tuesday morning he was back again, ate breakfast and worked all day. This time a little harder than the previous day. Before he left, he said he could only work a half-day on Wednesday, but he’d be here in the afternoon. And he was. In fact, he was there for every day of ESM.

 The Monday volunteers from Anheuser-Busch must have passed on the story of this young, hungry volunteer. Each day the next group of A-B volunteers made sure Jamil had a buddy to work with him. While the company does not have an established youth mentoring program, these volunteers simply took it upon themselves to take this youngster under their wing for the week.

By the end of the Extreme Stream Makeover on Friday afternoon, Jamil had logged more volunteer hours than any other individual. When the media showed up, Jamil was there to help carry their equipment. He ended up being photographed by a local newspaper and interviewed by a TV station reporter.

At JRA we talk a lot about engaging young people in our efforts to protect the watershed. We may never know what inspired this youth to plant, haul mulch and pick up trash with JRA all week, but we’re certainly glad that he did. Thank you, Jamil!