New Hyde Park Volunteer Spotlight: Don Pospisil

Don Pospisil has been a volunteer at the Make-A-Wish-Foundation since 1995. Gaby Sappington, group director of MAW, says, “His longstanding commitment to the foundation and the children we serve is an inspiration and we’re always happy to see him in the office.”

New Hyde Park Patch interviewed Pospisil about his volunteer work.

How did you decide to volunteer at Make A Wish?

It all started in May, 1995 when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I was 44-years- old in perfect health.

To be told a few weeks later I had cancer was devastating. I have been cancer free for 16 years. Having a life-threatening illness can really make you change your priorities in life.

I was determined to start giving back. I realized that year after year I donated to the MAW, which I knew was a great charity with a terrific cause. But that’s all I did; I sat down wrote a check, put it in an envelope and threw it in the mailbox.

In December of 1995, three months after my successful cancer surgery, I looked up the location of the nearest MAW office, which was in Port Washington at the time, knocked on the door and asked if they could use a volunteer. I’ve been volunteering for this wonderful organization for 15 years and it feels like 15 days!

What do you find most rewarding about your volunteer work?

Everything!  It is a super-rewarding experience to be a part of making a child’s wish come true. A perfect example is by reading the voluminous number of thank you letters we receive every year.  This alone is enough of a reward for me.

I volunteer in a number of ways; I am an office volunteer, a speakers bureau volunteer and a special events volunteer. As an office volunteer, it’s truly rewarding just to have the opportunity to work with the terrific MAW staff – they do an awesome job of making every wish (all 531 wishes and 262 wish assists last fiscal year) come true.  It is really astonishing how a full-time staff of only 27 can accomplish so much and this is made possible thanks to the over 800 volunteers.

As an office volunteer, what is so rewarding is that each and every time I go into the MAW office, I don’t know what type of wish I’ll be working on and the wishes are so varied that the work never gets boring.

As a speaker’s bureau volunteer I go to local schools and organizations and spread the word about the MAW mission. 

What would you say to encourage other people to volunteer in the neighborhood?

Sign up to be a volunteer.  Once they go through the front door of the MAW office or walk into their first training session, they will never be the same! They will get to interact with a truly dedicated, professional staff where each and every staff member goes out of his or her way to ensure that every volunteer gets the most out of their volunteering experience. Plus, they will meet some of the most interesting and inspiring people imaginable from every walk of life. Whether it’s being a wish granter, an office worker, a speech giver, a fund raiser, or a wish story volunteer, they will wish that they had volunteered a lot sooner. It is truly an honor and pleasure to work for such a distinguished and professional charitable organization supporting such a wonderful cause and I plan on volunteering here for many more years.