POLAND – Linda Laskey is never bored.

She doesn’t have time.

A deacon at the Poland Community Church, she helps run the church’s food bank and thrift store. She created Lifesprings Inc., a group dedicated to helping older Poland folks, and she’s working to build affordable housing for the elderly. She helps get Christmas gifts for the needy, oil assistance for the poor and energy conservation information for those who can least afford high energy bills.

Laskey volunteers for something – helping someone – every day.

But she doesn’t see that as anything special.

“I’m only part of teams. I’m part of a group and I want them to get the ‘Hooray for you’ stuff, not me. I’m just a member of things. I’m not alone in these things,” she said. “My idea might be the beginning of a thing, but I haul people in with me and they join me no matter what dumb idea I have.”

Laskey, 66, has always volunteered and has always been surrounded by volunteers. As a child, she got her community spirit from her parents. As an adult, that spirit grew with her husband and in-laws, who were civic minded.

Laskey and her husband, John, moved to Poland in the 1960s and Laskey began working as an elementary school teacher in the area. She fell in love with her job and with the town, and she soon began trying to give back.

“Commitment and community – I see the ‘I’ in both those words and that’s something I really believe in. If you’re going to be part of something, you really have to make a commitment,” Laskey said.

She served on town and church committees while she worked and raised a family. After she retired a few years ago, Laskey filled her free time with even more community and church work.

She’s especially busy this time of year.

Laskey mans the church’s food bank and thrift shop every Saturday, and recently offered to open and run them on Wednesdays so more people could get help. She works with the Salvation Army to get toys to needy children in town and works with her church to get Christmas gifts to elderly residents. She’s helping the town’s heating oil assistance program. She’s raising money to build affordable housing so elderly Poland residents won’t have to move from the town they love.

“I’ve always been for the underdog, you know, fight for things. To my husband I’ve said ‘Could you build me a soapbox?’ and my husband’s told me, ‘You don’t need one,'” she said with a laugh.

But despite all the work she does, it’s the generosity of others – from neighbors who care for others to people who donate to the food bank and thrift shop – that makes Laskey marvel.

“We are very, very fortunate that people know that we’re there and what we’re doing and they want to be part of it,” she said.

In the spirit of the holidays, we will offer occasional stories between now and Christmas Day on the power of people helping people.Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for the many good things they do for others in our communities? Contact Mark Mogensen at 689-2805 or at [email protected].