Senior carries on grandfather’s penchant for volunteer work
Published: June 4, 2005
Todd Beard wishes there were more hours in each day.
“I wish I had more time to do more,” Beard said.
The 24-year-old University of Michigan-Flint senior has completed more than 700 hours of community service.
He has worked as a grief counselor, a construction worker for Habitat for Humanity, a teacher and a candy striper.
“My day starts at 7 a.m. and doesn’t end until 11 p.m.,” he said. “I fill up every space in my schedule seven days a week.”
In addition to completing all that community service, Beard holds a 3.0 grade point average and is receiving degrees in education/instructional technology and elementary education when he finishes school at the end of the summer.
While finding time to do all that volunteer work, Beard also had to work to pay for his education. At one point, he held three jobs.
“If I’m working 60 hours per week, it’s hard to get A’s in all my classes,” he said.
“Maybe if I had had the time I could have gotten a better GPA, but I learned a lot on the job and that was more valuable than grades.”
Beard said his motivation for all the volunteer work came from his grandfather.
“He worked with people who were filing for bankruptcy and helped others get their businesses back on their feet,” Beard said.
“He did it through his retirement. I thought I could continue his legacy by doing something.”
After the death of his grandfather, Beard started volunteering at McLaren Regional Medical Center as a candy striper and eventually began counseling terminally ill patients.
From there, he worked as a grief counselor with children. The work better suited Beard because of the loss of his grandfather.
“I wanted to do something more personal to me, and it has given me the joy of working with people,” he said.
Beard gives about 100 hours of his time per year to Flint’s Heartland Hospice. The program hosts a summer camp, in which Beard works as a counselor, about twice a year. During the program, children complete different activities to help them through the grieving process.
“The approach to each one is totally different and it’s very dynamic in the fact that you have to adapt to the situation at hand,” Beard said.
“Some of them are dealing with old age-death, which is easier to help, but some are dealing with things like the murder of their parents.”
For all his volunteer efforts, Beard received an award from the University of Michigan-Flint during his graduation ceremony. But he said he doesn’t do the work for awards.
“My work gives me a chance to help other people,” Beard said.
“Every time I help someone I get the feeling that they’re going to take that knowledge and give back to someone else.”
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