Hit 500 people helped at the independent living center and it surprised me

I volunteer at the local independent living center in Tacoma. I never kept count before but last week they gave me a certificate saying I helped the 500th person through our peer mentoring program. Honestly I was shocked because I thought I was just doing small stuff like showing people how to fill out SSI forms or how to ask their landlord for a ramp. But then I realized those little things add up. It made me think about how we measure impact in disability advocacy. Sometimes we focus on big policy wins but the day to day help matters just as much. I guess my question is has anyone else tracked a specific number like this and found it changed how they see their own work?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookefox20d ago

... and that's the thing though, right? Like we get so caught up in the big picture stuff that we forget how much those tiny moments actually stack up. You said you were just doing "small stuff" but that's how real change happens, one conversation at a time. Did you ever feel like you were just spinning your wheels before you saw that number, or was it more like you knew you were helping but just didn't realize how many people?

riverowens20d ago

Am I wrong in thinking you probably felt like you were just helping out day to day without really seeing the forest for the trees? It's kinda crazy how those little actions add up to something way bigger than we ever realize.