Finding Purpose in the Service of Others

Volunteering will help you find joy and purpose in the service of others.

25 years of service in the Army, including three deployments to Afghanistan, and my current position as a Colonel in the Army Reserve have shown me the value of having a sense of purpose in life.

In 2008, I transitioned from a career in the military to working for a defense contractor Northrop Grumman, an organization where I found doing the right thing and giving back to the community to be essential elements of the company’s core values.

My first encounter with Penn-Mar Human Services was in 2021, when I was the site executive at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Sykesville, MD, responsible for managing some 500 employees at the site.

I became aware of the volunteer engagement activities at Penn-Mar and decided to revitalize the program with the assistance of my administrative assistant, Kathy Miles. She serves as my primary contact for all our community engagement efforts at our Sykesville location.

Kathy put me in touch with Tina Chan Sweenie, Penn-Mar’s Associate Director of Development and Volunteer and Donor Engagement, and together we created a more formal volunteer program that would ensure our employees participated in at least two events annually.

Our first project sent us to the organization’s community homes where Northrop Grumman employee volunteers did everything from mulching and cutting down trees, to putting in patios for various properties. Our goal is to bring at least 20 volunteers to each assignment, and at this outing several of our crew of engineers even brought along their own tools and tractors!

The spirit of the day was all about teamwork, service and giving back to others. It was heartwarming to see the great turnout of Northrop Grumman employees and the impact of their impressive accomplishments. We were as grateful for the experience as Penn-Mar was for the much-needed improvements.

When Tina called to say an organizer had backed out of a planned Car Wash for Penn-Mar Central’s fleet of vehicles that are used every day to transport the people they support to their appointments and throughout the community, our volunteers again came to the rescue. We rallied the troops and made sure that the day’s assignment went off without a hitch.

Most of our volunteer efforts are staged at community homes, but one time we decided to change things up a bit and invited 15 people who Penn-Mar supports to join us on a field trip to our factory in Sykesville.

While there, our employees told them about the equipment the plant produced for the Navy’s ships and submarines and answered questions from the enthusiastic group. After the tour, we treated our guests to lunch and a fun afternoon playing cornhole with our employees.

For me, organizing and participating in volunteer events such as these are incredibly fulfilling. It is so obvious that everyone we have met and worked with at Penn-Mar leads with their heart and truly cares about their mission to provide the people they support with everything they need to live their best lives.

The month of April has been designated National Volunteer Month to encourage individuals to engage in volunteerism and acknowledge the impact that volunteers have on communities. At Northrop Grumman, we believe being a good corporate citizen starts with the people we employ, the people in our communities and the people who may become part of our workforce. Our employees are committed to the communities where we live and work through generous contributions of time, talent and resources. By giving your time and talents to worthwhile causes like Penn-Mar, you are certain to find immense joy and purpose in the service of others – as much as we do.