Story by Jane Winston

Some speak of it in their forties.Most wait till their fifties or sixties and long for it. By the time they become a septuagenarian, they not only talk of it. They dwell on in it, they become obsessed with it—they do it! And what is it, you ask? RETIRE!!

EUPHORIA! Sleep in, morning news, and several cups of coffee, cell phone play, no “nice” clothes, no meetings, no paperwork, no difference between Monday and Saturday. Finally, you can play golf and work out at the gym. At last, you can be in a book club!The time has arrived to catch up with neglected chores/projects you’ve been putting off. Time now to hang with the family a bit more, and to attend baseball games and ballerina dances with the grands. Join the neighborhood bowling team you’ve been recruited for many times and finally have time to work (and play) with the spouse. The fun-filling times roll on and on and on!

However, one day down the road, you awaken one morning feeling a bit dissatisfied with your retired life. You are out of shape, a bit heavier, need a good haircut, clothes look sort of’ shabby, chores are not done and the “git-up-in-your-git-along-has-done-got-up-and-gone.”

You are lacking a PURPOSE in your life. For many, a “why am I here” mode kicks in!

Guess what? This article has a PURPOSE for you, and that PURPOSE is VOLUNTEERISM!So many charitable organizations in our local area could use a few hours of your time to help them accomplish their missions, while giving you that much-needed boost you might welcome right now.

Joan Anderson retired from a very rewarding, fulfilling career as a librarian in and out of the states. One of her most rewarding librarian positions came in 1973 when she became the first woman hired as a librarian in the military library at Lakenheath Royal Air Base in England. However, working never got in the way of her volunteering, no matter where she lived. She and her husband, Frank, eventually moved to the States, where she eventually worked for and retired from the Middle Georgia Regional Library system in Macon. Retirement gave her the opportunity to jump headlong into more volunteering, especially with Project Linus.

Joan has always loved crocheting, and at the church she attended, the members were crocheting white blankets for baptisms. As word spread, Joan began to inherit yarn from folks as they knew of the project, and her involvement. She knew of Project Linus, named for the Peanuts cartoon character Linus, who cannot be separated from his blanket! She suggested that perhaps the church members expand a bit, and reach out to children who were struggling and in need of a “hug, a blanket.” The thought among the Project Linus members is that a blanket is just a blanket—unless you give it a hug and give it away. “A hug is not a hug until you give it away.” So, make a blanket, give it a hug, and give it away to a child who needs that hug. Joan started the Bibb County Chapter of Project Linus, which has grown exponentially, started21 years and 105,000 hand-made “hugs” ago.

And where, you may ask, have these 105,000 “hugs” gone?This is not an all-inclusive list, but a glimpse of where Joan and Frank deliver the blankets:

• Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, Atrium Health Navicent emergency room and abuse center
• Piedmont Hospital Nursery
• Peach County Hospital
• The Kolbe Center
• Forsyth Natural Birth Center
• Head Start
• Salvation Army
• Crisis Line and Safe House
• …and as needed and by personal request to various mentoring organizations and schools.

Recently, they have begun delivering to Robins Air Force Base for young children new to the base and to familiesundergoing a deployment. They also create quilts for Gold Star families, plus receiving blankets, Christmas blankets and prayer shawls.This is only “the tip of the iceberg.”

Be advised that Joan does not do these blankets alone. She has quite a team of angels devoted to this volunteer project. She guesses she has had, through the years, around 88 volunteers who have come and gone for various reasons. Many of them are widows and retirees.The group meets monthly in a donated space at Lawrence Drive Baptist Church in Macon. Joan runs a very friendly organization with structure and PURPOSE. She always has open arms for newcomers, be they yarn gatherers, blanket makers, delivery takers; the list goes on and on.

Thanks Joan and your blanket-making angels! Reader, take a look at your life. Take a peek at Joan and Frank Anderson’s lives. Consider a new purpose and passion of your own in your retirement. Check out my list of volunteer organizations included in this magazine issue and pick one or more that might need/want/appreciate YOU. Then, dive in!