Giving isn’t about getting, but three Maple Grove men know firsthand that giving back to the community has its rewards. They say it’s the feeling you get when you give. And it’s a feeling they are very familiar with.
“Doing something legitimate and something selfless, there is nothing more cleansing for your soul,” Chris Hawkey says.
“The feeling that you get when you help someone … just makes our community a little bit better,” Tim Huebsch adds.
“The one thing is you are always gaining more than what you give. It’s a wonderful use of your time,” Bob Munson concludes.
Giving is a Privilege
Bob Munson volunteers at ____ because of _____.
The 69-year-old Maple Grove man can fill in the blanks with a multitude of organizations and give a plethora of reasons why. After 40 years of working for social service groups such as the American Red Cross and Lutheran Social Service, Munson retired in 2006.
Now, he helps the American Lung Association, the Maple Grove Arts Council, the Maple Grove Historical Society and the list goes on.
“It’s only natural that I would be a volunteer after my career,” he says. “Because it’s what I’ve always done. I believe in making a difference with people wherever they are – in the community or the people that I work with.”
He called his career path a “privilege.”
As a young man, Munson got his start in social services during a Peace Corps mission in rural Venezuelan communities. As the director of Emergency Services for the Minneapolis chapter of the American Red Cross, he traveled to New York to assist with nearly 90 foreign families who lost loved ones during the 9/11 attacks.
“We helped them deal with their grief after the World Trade Center fell,” says Munson, who calls his career path a privilege. “It was extraordinarily emotional. It was particularly moving to deal with different cultures and religions and how they handle death, especially without a body. It was extraordinarily moving.”
These days, Munson and his wife, Sandra, can be found giving time at the Maple Grove Hospital. She plays the piano; he helps in the gift shop.
“Anytime someone can give to their church or community, it’s very valuable,” says Munson, an active member at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, “not only to themselves, but to their community.”
One New Thing
While Bob Munson has a full resume to reflect on, 32-year-old Tim Huebsch of Maple Grove is building a pretty impressive one for himself.
Huebsch works in digital marketing for General Mills during the day, and in his off time, he serves on boards and other leadership positions at a throng of non-profits, alumni associations and foundations.
“Having the chance to get involved in non-profit organizations and getting the chance to serve on the boards, it’s been a great way to give back to the community and help the organization,” Huebsch says. “At the same time, I’m able to learn so much myself in the process and make some amazing connections and relationships with others.”
At the Greater Twin Cities United Way, the Citizens League and Social Venture Partners – to name a few – Huebsch focuses on creating synergies and efficiencies. He prides himself on fostering connections between varying peoples and letting them flourish. “Sometimes you don’t hear about it,” he says, “but when you do, it shows how valuable those connections are.”
Each year, Huebsch makes a commitment to do one thing that is unrelated to his work at General Mills. “That has given me an amazing opportunity to have some really neat experiences,” he says.
Huebsch says his giving ways match the climate at General Mills, which he says, has 82 percent of employees volunteering outside their job and 18 percent serving on boards.
“It’s ingrained in our culture,” Huebsch explains. “Getting someone out into the community and getting them to see what’s going on and the impact that organizations are making is a great way to get them to ultimately give back.”
And making a real difference doesn’t necessarily mean big dollars, Huebsch insists. “Too often, the thought is if I don’t have a million dollars, or if I don’t have a huge amount to give to an organization, then I’m not going to make an impact,” Huebsch says. “The reality is $10, $15, $100 here or there makes a true impact.”
Fame Focused
Sports radio personality Chris Hawkey uses his notoriety to try to help people less famous.
Hawkey, co-host of KFAN’s morning show for a decade, gives his time to Alan Anderson, a young man with tuberous sclerosis complex, and to a larger extent, the group which helps bring attention and action to the little-known affliction.
Hawkey, who has lived in Maple Grove for 13 years, grew up small town on the Indiana-Ohio border. He says working at a radio station and staring in a band in the Twin Cities is “a place I only dreamed I’d be.”
“When you hit the jackpot, so to speak, it’s your duty to give back,” Hawkey says.
Hawkey met Anderson eight years ago and learned about TS, a condition where non-cancerous growths form on major organs such as the brain, heart and lungs.
“It’s a very prevalent disease that people just don’t know about because, for lack of a better way to put it, no one famous has had it,” Hawkey says. “I met a lot of kids with TS and met a lot of adults with TS as well and became passionate about the organization.”
Hawkey has partaken in Step Forward to Cure TSC Walkathon, Rev It Up for TS, and through his music moonlighting, he released a CD in 2006 to raise funds. Over the past five years, it’s raised more money than he anticipated. “We’ve raised a lot of money on that, and to this day, I’m still very proud of it,” he says.
Hawkey, a husband and father of two healthy children, doesn’t stop at TS. He also gives to Faith’s Lodge and Kylie’s Hope, two groups that focus on the loss of children.
“I never feel better about myself,” he says, “than when I’m spending a day helping.”
