(upbeat music) - Hello, neighbors.

Welcome to "Look for the Helpers: Portraits in Community Service."

I'm your host, Cynthia Tyler.

For as long as people have lived together, there have been those who've been inspired to give freely of themselves in order to make people's lives better.

Volunteers have provided the creation and foundation for so many nonprofit organizations and groups, truly becoming the beating heart of the community through their tireless and selfless efforts.

Today, we take time to honor and learn about two of our many local volunteers.

Julie Garnsey is the co-founder, along with her husband Jeff, of Garnsey's Feral Acres in Clayton, New York.

Their 150-acre sanctuary houses abandoned or injured domestic pets and livestock.

Julie is also the executive director of the Clayton Opera House.

And Garry McColman is a volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston.

He enjoys working with and encouraging children to be their best.

Please join me as we celebrate our local volunteers.

(upbeat music) I'm here with Julie Garnsey, the co-owner of Garnsey's Feral Acres.

Welcome, Julie.

We're so happy that you could join us.

- Thanks for having me.

- So tell us about your background.

Tell us about how Feral Acres got started.

- Well, it was kind of an oopsie.

My husband and I live out in Depauville.

We have a large piece of property, 155 acres, and we had taken in these three pigs.

And we didn't realize at the time that, you know, pigs were so social and interactive.

And we knew at the time, as soon as we had them as little babies, that there was no harm gonna ever come to these pigs.

Because you see a pig, and if you've ever interacted with them, they have an intelligence of their own.

And then we had somebody reach out to us that had a pig that was a house pig, and she got too big to be the house pig, and they wanted us to take her on.

- Oh.

- And so we did.

We brought her in with our three pigs.

We had Zeus, Hera, and Phoenix originally, and we brought Pinky on.

And when Pinky came about, Zeus kind of triggered, you know, wanting to mate with her.

And he did.

And that was our oopsie.

That was our first oopsie.

It was the only oopsie on the farm.

And she ended up having piglets.

Then people started kind of contacting us and saying, "Hey, we have this animal for this."

And very soon we realized there was no way that we were going to be able to sustain any kind of a rescue or do anything with these animals with just our two military retirements and my pay from the opera house and what my husband makes on his cruises.

There was no way we were going to be able to sustain this and try to run a rescue.

So we kind of did some research.

We went out to Farm Sanctuary, which is down in Watkins Glen, and we researched what they do.

And they've been doing the same thing we're doing but since 1980.

And we had some very good friends that came together with us and said, "You should create a not-for-profit and do this because there's so much need out there."

So that was in 2019.

And so in 2019, my husband and I made the decision to create a not-for-profit and to run a rescue farm.

- Yes, it was Garnsey's Feral Acres Rescue Farm.

And so now with that, you've got volunteers coming in to help out with all of those animals.

So how many animals do you have?

And how many volunteers do you have come through there?

- So we have around 85 animals.

- [Cynthia] Wow.

- So we have cows and pigs, donkeys and mules, goats, sheep.

We do have a bunch of cats.

Probably around 20 cats.

Most of them are just farm cats.

They come and go.

Some of them are there all the time.

And we have some potbelly pigs.

On a normal basis, we probably have have about six or seven volunteers that come, like, every week or every couple weeks to do stuff.

There's some others that come when we have a special project.

- So, like, last year we were putting up fencing, and we put out a call for volunteers.

And we probably had 10 or 15 people that showed up on a day and we put up a fence, basically.

- Wow, that's great.

So our volunteers are pretty active.

We have some that come every single week, and, pretty much, they muck stalls.

You know, they might clean up where the ducks are at or, you know, where the cows have been.

And clean the stalls, put down fresh hay or fresh straw.

And then we have some that come, we get produce from Sam's every Wednesday.

They give us produce that has expired, and that goes out to the pigs and the animals.

And we have a couple of people that come every single Wednesday, and they help to distribute that produce.

This is a lot of work involved with this many animals.

- Of course.

Anybody who's ever been on a farm knows the labor involved in that.

But the volunteers obviously really, really enjoy it.

I mean, it must be a really fun sense of community and fun, having all of those volunteers working with you.

So now, obviously, you understand the value of volunteer work and all of that.

Do you have a long history of volunteerism in your life?

Is that something that you've always, you know, wanted to give back?

- So I was in the Navy for a very long time.

So in the Navy, part of your time is always volunteering.

You're volunteering here.

You're giving back to the community that you happen to be in at the time.

So I've done volunteer work from the time I was young.

And even when I retired and I moved up here, there were opportunities to volunteer.

I actually volunteered at the opera house before I got hired at the opera house.

- [Cynthia] Yes, that's right.

- So when I got hired, I found my little name tag that had my name on it that had said volunteer on it.

And every once in a while I'll show that to my staff, and I'll be like, "See?

I was a volunteer here before I worked here."

So I have always volunteered on several boards in Clayton.

The Thousand Islands Museum Board and the Clayton Chamber of Commerce.

And so I volunteer my time where I can.

Obviously, much more busy now than I was a few years ago because of the farm.

- Of course.

Right.

- But when I have an opportunity, I try to volunteer.

I think it's important to give back.

- And you must find a sense of fulfillment.

What is the feeling for you, giving back like that?

How does that enrich your life?

- It makes you feel good when you can see the things that you can do for the community when you have a special skillset.

And even when you don't.

I mean, you don't have to have a special skillset to volunteer at a farm.

You just have to be compassionate and caring.

And you see people come to the farm to volunteer, and they're not sure because they've never been around big animals before.

And some of our pigs are very big.

I mean, we have a couple that are close to 1,000 pounds.

- Whew.

- So they're big.

And the cows are big.

We have a steer that is probably seven foot tall and close to 3,000 pounds.

He's a big guy, but he's gentle.

- Wow.

- And people see that, and they're like, they're intimidated by it.

But then when they actually approach, and you can see the transition as they volunteer, and they realize that these animals are really very, they're intuitive.

They're gentle.

They can tell if you're afraid of them or if you're not afraid of them.

And they can tell if you're a nice person or not.

- And you can see the volunteers learning and enjoying that and enriching their own lives.

So that gives you back double duty there because you got to have that experience with them.

That's wonderful.

So I have been dying to ask you this question, because when I've read about all of the animals that you have, Goose Willis.

(Julie laughs) Goose Willis.

I need to know about Goose Willis.

- So Goose Willis came to us with three other geese.

So they were out on the road in the middle of winter with a turkey and a Muscovy duck.

And the gentleman who had had them, he had gotten older, couldn't really take care of them, and he kind of just, he opened up the doors and just let them go.

And animal control found these animals.

Middle of winter.

It was cold.

Gathered them up, gave us a call, said, "Will you take these animals on?"

And so we did.

They're not unfriendly.

They're typical geese.

You can't pet them.

But they don't chase after you.

Like, sometimes you see geese that chase after you.

They don't do that.

But they are, all of them, we have three left, but they are like the bosses of the farm.

They come and go.

Obviously, they stay right on the farm, but they're free range.

They're not enclosed anywhere.

- And they represent a need that the community had, because you take in animals that maybe people can't care for anymore.

That's a part of the service that you provide to the community.

- Yes.

And a lot of our animals have come from abuse or neglect cases.

A lot of that is just, they don't have the knowledge of how to take care of these animals.

The geese were unique in the fact that they were just let go.

We have a couple of potbelly pigs, three of them, actually, that happened recently, that were in Watertown.

And the owners just kind of opened the gates and let them go, and they were wandering the streets of Watertown.

- Oh, wow.

- So we took them in.

But we've had other very unique cases.

We have three farm pigs that came from Michigan.

And we were reached out to.

These three little girls were about a year old.

They came to us in the back of a cargo van.

So they were tiny.

- Ooh.

- They should have been 150 or 200 pounds, and they were probably each only about 60 pounds.

And they were being kept in kind of a square box, maybe eight foot by eight foot, wooden, and hadn't been cleaned, and they were being given water as a treat.

And so they were very neglected.

And it's amazing to watch the turn of those animals, 'cause they're probably some of the friendliest pigs on the farm.

- [Cynthia] I'm sure.

- It's just kind of that transition, to see them come.

And they've come from these places that people, like I said, they either just don't know or they don't care.

You know, we have three calves that are like that.

They were brought in, and the lady, they were baby bull calves, and she was going to raise them for veal, but she wasn't really feeding them.

And she wasn't doing- - And didn't know.

- the right thing, and she didn't know.

- And now you've brought them in, and they're with people, the volunteers, who obviously very much care for them.

And you yourself obviously are such a caring owner, which is absolutely wonderful.

You and your husband Jeff, taking care of this.

- Jeff takes care of the animals, mostly.

- That's wonderful.

- I mean, he's there, of course, all the time on the farm.

- Wonderful.

- And he does most of that work, but having help is very important.

- There it is.

Health.

Right.

So if somebody wants to come and help at Garnsey Feral Acres, where can they find out information on that?

- So they can go to our website.

It will link you to our Facebook.

There is a Facebook page for volunteers for Garnsey's Feral Acres.

And we have a coordinator, her name is Lisa Drumm, and she takes care of that.

So you reach out on Facebook.

You say, "Hey, I'd like to volunteer at the farm."

She'll reach out to you.

She'll bring you out.

She'll give you a tour of the farm.

She'll show you what we need.

And then, you know, based on your level of ability, some of that work is very heavy work, so you have to have some.

And sometimes, if you wanna just come, we have one person who comes and she loves to muck the stalls, but she also loves those potbelly pigs.

When she's done mucking the stalls, she goes and sits down, and she cuts up apples and she has corn for them.

And where they don't really approach anybody else, one of them is actually eating out of her hands- - Wonderful.

- and the other ones are just about there.

They're, like, at the edge.

They'll grab something and they might run, but they'll...

So we have people that- - They're making those bonds with the animals.

- make those bonds.

- That's wonderful.

- And then that changes.

Our donkeys and mules were like that for a very long time.

And we had a volunteer, he would come out every single day, cut up apples and salting crackers, and he'd just spend his time out there.

And now you can hug both of them.

- That's wonderful.

- Everybody can.

- That's so great.

- So it's a work.

- Yes, it is absolutely the work.

And if you want to give somebody some words to inspire them to volunteer, you're just talking to them and they're walking on the street, what would you say to them to inspire them to volunteer?

- Well, I would say, volunteer where your passion is.

If your passion is animals, then find a place to volunteer that you can help and make a difference in animals.

If your passion is the arts, go find a place where you can volunteer and learn about the arts or volunteer and help the arts.

It's just about environment, too.

I mean, Save The River needs volunteers, TILT needs volunteers.

Everybody who runs organizations like what we run needs volunteers.

And go where your passion is because that's where you're going to be the most effective.

And try something different.

I would've never thought back in the day that I would be running an animal sanctuary.

I mean, I grew up with animals, but it wasn't like this.

It was nothing like this.

And when we started this, it was like, "What are we doing here?"

And now it's like, "Why didn't we start this earlier?"

- How wonderful that you had that experience, that enrichment just from reaching out and helping.

That's wonderful.

Julie, you're also the executive director of the magnificent Clayton Opera House.

And I understand that that also takes a lot of volunteers.

Can you tell us about some opportunities for them at the opera house?

- Yeah, so as you know, we do shows.

And for every show, we need volunteers to either usher, hand out programs, take tickets.

They may work concessions or the merchandise table.

Because when we have a full house, it takes us about 20 volunteers to get everybody in their seats in time to start.

We also do mailings throughout the year.

So we have a small staff.

We have a staff of five people.

So we wouldn't be able to put on the shows that we do without our amazing volunteers that come in and help us do the things that we do.

- Fantastic.

Where can they reach out to you for information on volunteering for the opera house?

- So they can go to the website, claytonoperahouse.com, or they can call Tera in the box office, and she's more than happy to help them out.

- Okay.

Julie, thank you so much for being with us.

We really appreciate you being here today.

And we wish Feral Acres all of the best continued success in the future.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Today I'm here with Garry McColman from the Kingston Boys and Girls Club.

Thank you so much for being with us today, Garry.

It's good to see you.

- Cynthia, it's a pleasure to be here.

- Well, we're gonna get right into it.

So tell us about how you got started in volunteering.

- Well, that's an easy question because I have been in the media all my life.

So you're out in the public, and all of a sudden you get requests to go places, interview people, get involved with organizations, do PSA announcements, et cetera.

And I decided very early that I really should take one thing, focus on it, is something I really believe in or really like to do, and put my energies into that.

And that really became young people.

And when I saw the work of the Boys and Girls Club, I just said, "You know what?

I really want to get involved here and help develop this organization to a city like Kingston, who I think really has the great opportunity to produce some really miraculous people from young people."

- Wonderful.

That sounds incredibly exciting.

So what does the Boys and Girls Club do?

- Well, the Boys and Girls Club is an organization that brings young, well, young people and older people in Kingston.

We've really developed a huge organization, with two locations.

The first one really started in downtown, in an old school, a 100-year-old school, that the Board of Education decided that they didn't want to facilitate anymore.

And so the organization called the Boys and Girls Club, decided let's take the school over, develop it into a youth hub.

And we had a gym and had other, like, classrooms and whatever.

And we'll bring in youth from the north end of the city and from other surrounding areas for leagues, athletic leagues, and to do other young people things that they do.

And before you know it, they almost outgrew it within the first 10 years or so.

Seven years, I'd say.

And now they have two hubs in Kingston.

One of them, which is now in the west end of the city, was a gym, a licensed gym.

And it has about 30,000 square feet in there.

(laughs) And now it's full as well.

- Wow.

- So now the two locations are full in Kingston.

- Very impressive.

- But in the early years, to bring young people together and give them a structured program, in a safe environment, with the encouragement of people who volunteer to come in from all aspects of the community, that's really what intrigued me to get involved.

And a lot of young people like to learn about media and radio and television, et cetera, as you probably know.

- Well, sure.

It's very exciting work.

Absolutely.

So getting inspired to do this, did you have somebody in your life that inspired you to volunteer, taught you to volunteer?

How did you decide, "Well, I wanna give back"?

- I did have.

I had a mentor when I was young.

His name was Ken Showers.

And actually, he was my Sunday school teacher in the Baptist Church.

And every Sunday I would go to the school that I went to because that's where they had the youth program.

And this man took it upon himself to take me under his wing and not only, you know, bring me to a Christian organization that gave me some really positive beliefs, but also would take me to my hockey practices if my dad was working, which he did work a lot, or come to my hockey games, and really encourage me.

And that man, to this day, I would give credit for me saying, "You know what?

I want to give back into the community as well and do the same thing."

- Well, that's outstanding, and how wonderful to have that person in your life.

That's fantastic.

You talked about teaching the kids about media and radio.

So what exactly does that mean?

Do you take them out with a DJ deck or something like that?

- Absolutely.

- [Cynthia] Wow.

- Actually, in the Boys and Girls Club, in the west end of the city, upstairs, we have a little recording studio there that some of my friends, I don't know whether you've ever heard of The Tragically Hip or not.

- Oh, we love The Hip.

Absolutely.

- Well, the boys from The Hip who, I wouldn't go as far as say they're personal friends, but really good acquaintances because of the media contact, their producer and the boys got together and donated some equipment to the Boys and Girls Club.

So we set up a nice little media center up there, where kids could go up with their guitars or their drums or whatever and they can record themselves, or they can pretend like they're DJs or whatever.

So that was the part- - Wow.

- that I really enjoyed getting involved with.

But also the basketball leagues.

And they play volleyball in there.

You know, I mean, other sporting activities that the kids are involved with.

We like to sponsor those activities as well and be there to help them.

And I think the most rewarding night that I enjoy is called awards night.

And I like to MC that night where all the little, the parents are there and the kids come up and they get their awards for enthusiasm and leadership, you know, and things like that.

And it's really a fun night.

- That sounds so special.

I mean, having that impact on a child's life, that has to really mean a whole lot to you.

And you had just mentioned.

So how does that enrich your life?

What does that do for you personally?

- Oh.

Well, I have five kids of my own, so.

- [Cynthia] Oh, wow.

- I had to spend some time at home with them, of course, which I certainly did.

But, you know, we have things, like the Kids 4 Kids is a branch from the Boys and Girls Club.

We have a hockey tournament every year, and we've had it for 26 years.

And we bring over 180 hockey teams to the city of Kingston- - Wow.

- every year for one weekend.

I've had the pleasure of chairing that event now for about the past 23 years.

But now we have coaches in that come in and say, "Hey, I went to the Boys and Girls Club.

They gave me this opportunity when I was young.

They invested in me the positive vibes to give back to the community."

Now they've played in the hockey tournament.

They're now coaching kids who are in the hockey tournament.

- Wow.

- And makes me feel old, mind you.

But still, that gives me just... And my team, 'cause you can't do anything alone, right?

You have to have a great team.

But it gives our team just the greatest feeling of gratitude that the investment we've made, and that's what a volunteer does.

A volunteer is investing time.

And somebody told me one time, you know, you can do one of two things.

You can get into an organization, you can just give money.

And that will help the organization.

No question about it.

And the Boys and Girls Club is no different.

We need opportunity like PBS television.

But when you give your time, you've given a part of your life.

And that investment means much more even, I believe, than giving the money.

Because every one of us, you have a gift, Cynthia.

You have a wonderful gift.

And I have a gift.

And so when you give a part of that gift back through volunteering, I think that's the best and greatest investment that a person can possibly do.

- That is exceptionally well said.

I don't think anybody could say it any better than that.

So I'm just gonna throw one more question at you.

- [Garry] Sure.

- When you're doing all of this volunteer work and you're giving so much back, well, you know, it's not always easy.

Sometimes there's some rough times and some hard times where you feel like giving up.

What's a special memory that you pull from to help yourself keep going?

- Well, I always have to say that I'm a glass-half-full and not half-empty guy.

So I would say that rough times are great opportunities.

To me, no just doesn't seem to be an answer.

I mean, the opportunities that arise through those times.

And you're right, there are those times.

Challenges where somebody says, "Maybe we should just give up on that person or on that situation."

And my answer always to that is, "There has to be some common ground.

There has to be some positive things, even in mistakes."

People, I believe, learn more from mistakes sometimes than they do wins.

But you're right, not everything is rosy, especially in volunteering.

People get feelings hurt.

When you're not paid to do something, for example, they're saying, "Well, why am I doing this?"

Or, "That person over there is getting more gratitude than I'm getting for what I'm doing."

So it takes some philosophy, psychology, or whatever to manage these things at times.

I have been a boss.

I have been an owner.

And so now I would like to be the best employee or volunteer I can possibly be because I've been on the other side of that fence.

So those are just, I think, great opportunities.

Have I ever given up on something?

Yeah, I must confess.

There are some times when I've had to say, "You know what, this just isn't working and maybe we should move on."

- There's wisdom in that.

Absolutely.

- But for the most part, you have to give it 100% and just see where it goes to.

But volunteering, it is.

It's a challenge in one half.

And you're right, it gives you great, it gives you some really great feelings when something really works well, and you know that you've made a positive contribution to what it is that you're doing.

- So if somebody would like to learn more about the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston, where can they go for more information?

- Well, they can Google BGC South East on the internet and get both locations.

The Bagot Street location, which is in Downtown Kingston, and then the west end location, which is in what we would term the Frontenac Mall, which is 1500 Bath Road in the west end of Kingston.

So let me just say that the Boys and Girls Club never refuses any person to come and participate in any of the programs that they have.

And again, those programs are, they're focused, they're secure, they're positive, and they give every young person the opportunity to come and be a part of the community.

And that's really what it's all about.

- Thank you so much for being with us here, Garry.

We are so grateful that you are sharing your time and your community efforts with us, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

- Well, thank you.

It's been a pleasure to be here today.

(upbeat music) - It's a reminder that bears repeating.

No one achieves anything alone.

The world needs help, and even the smallest amount of help can change the course of a life.

We hope that you're inspired to go out into our world and become the helper that we're all looking for.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (bright uplifting music)