Amy Scavezze
La Puente Volunteer
Glenn D. Williams is a strong, tall, 61-year-old (but you’d guess 45) man who walked into Rainbow’s End Alamosa last December wanting to volunteer.
At that time I was the store manager so showed him our stash of vacuums and asked him to clean all the floor rugs. Six hours later I realized he was still vacuuming and he was using the hose end of a shop vacuum, standing there bent over, singing to himself vacuuming up one tiny section at a time. I reminded him that we had an upright vacuum he could push around instead of using the narrow hose like that and he explained to me his method gets the rugs cleaner – and he was right. Then he showed me everything that was wrong with each vacuum, which ones were worth keeping, which ones should be trashed, and which ones would sell. He had cleaned them all out and had even wiped them down inside and out. The rugs looked brand new by the time he was done that day.
He began to come in every day, arriving at 7:40 in the morning, doing push-ups in the back ally until I would arrive at 8, and leave at 5in the evening. I tried keeping him busy with odd clean-up jobs thinking he wasn’t going to stick around for too long, but he just kept coming back.
Eventually I didn’t need to find anything for him to do, he created a routine for cleaning the bathrooms, taking out the trash, cleaning the floors and rugs, and organizing sections of the store; he became known by my staff and our regulars as that man that would sing while he cleaned, and when he would make a mistake he’d say “Oh come on Glenn D!”
Glenn was brought to Alamosa to serve time at the corrections center. When I met him, he was a few months away from finishing his sentence there. He has five children and he missed a big chunk of their lives during his time in jail and at corrections.
Despite his absence, he maintained a good connection with his children, and has always stayed in touch writing them letters throughout the years. Glenn has proven himself to be trustworthy, hardworking, honest, and protective of the other staff. Last spring he finished up his time at corrections with exceptionally good behavior and an ideal reputation with his corrections officer. Now he pays his own rent, buys his own food, and has started taking online classes – he’s a downright good citizen contributing to his community.
During his volunteer time with Rainbow’s End he moved up from clean up duty to one of the back room guys, and was hired on last spring. Although he has been hired, he still volunteers most of his time at the store. He loves staying busy and his time is more about the work he enjoys than about the money he’s earning. He runs pick-ups and deliveries, is in charge of storing and loading the big bales of old clothes, and sells the scrap metal recycling.Glenn has become a known and loved face at Rainbow’s End in Alamosa.
His happy, helpful, and comical attitude keeps the customers coming back for more and adds to the family dynamic that exists within the staff. Names are not Glenn’s strong suit, but he does remember faces and he loves to make up nicknames. Last year we had an AmeriCorps member who loved serving in Hunt Avenue Boutique, I don’t think Glenn ever learned her name, but he always called her “boutiquey” and that made her smile. I am truly inspired by Glenn’s heart and commitment to serve. Meeting Glenn D is an experience, next time you bring a donation you’ll see what I mean.
What’s Been Said…