What's motivating volunteers across the country, especially this Thanksgiving

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🗓️ 27 November 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

From building homes to ushering theater-goers to re-enacting medieval history for middle-schoolers – yes, you read that right – acts of volunteerism have remained vital for communities across the country. And not just for people in need.

This year, many volunteers have also reported seeing an increased need for food assistance across the country, as a temporary pause on the federal program known as SNAP left millions of Americans unable to buy food during the recent government shutdown. Ransom Miller, who co-founded a project that distributes food ahead of Thanksgiving for the past three decades, says he received more calls than ever this year.

In this episode, Miller and others featured this past year as part of NPR’s Here to Help series explain why they’re motivated to give back to their communities.

This episode was produced by Matt Ozug, Jason Fuller and Jonaki Mehta. It was edited by Ashley Brown. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Happy Thanksgiving.
0:01.6	On this holiday, we are doing something a little different.
0:04.5	We are taking some time to talk about the volunteer work Americans do.
0:10.0	For the past six months, we have been featuring stories of service and community in a series
0:14.3	called Here to Help.
0:16.3	Stories of people like 76-year-old Gerard van derorkin, a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Austin.
0:21.7	He loves the work.
0:22.6	He did his 50th build this year.
0:24.9	He says his favorite part is when he and other volunteers turn over the keys to the family
0:29.9	who will be living in their new home.
0:32.5	I was called a crier.
0:35.7	Every dedication I speak and I shed tears because most people didn't realize
0:43.4	that I was an immigrant too. I came to America many, many years ago. I was born in Jakarta,
0:50.0	Indonesia. I'm basically Americanized, but to come to America at that time, there was a
0:56.3	helping hand to get us here. And so I was very appreciative of that extending hand. So I was
1:01.7	willing to give back. And so it just moves me to see that there are people in this world that
1:07.4	really understands that you can't get through life without a helping hand.
1:14.4	Earlier this year, we also heard from Lee Cooper. Cooper volunteers at main needs, a group that
1:19.5	provides clothing for people in need, where he puts together shopping bags of clothes for people
1:24.0	he will never meet, including some recovering from addiction.
1:33.5	I know what it's like in early sobriety. I've been sober for 33 years. I did the best packing job I could for her. I tried to pick the prettiest, the newest, I mean, and then I gave
1:40.8	her a minute for mom kit, which is a kit we do for moms as a rule,
	...

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