Volunteer takes vacation from work to help out at the Christmas Bureau

Christmas Bureau volunteer Joe Guerrinha takes more than a week off work every December to work at the Bureau, but insists that he’s only doing what hundreds of other people are doing, and isn’t worthy of any special recognition.

The Spokane Valley man has worked for the Idaho State Insurance Fund for 28 years and has plenty of vacation time saved up.

“It’s easy to do,” he said. “I have a lot of time. Plus, they encourage people to be active in volunteerism.”

The Christmas Bureau offers food vouchers, toys and books to families and children who need a little help at Christmas. The effort, which is run by Catholic Charities, the Volunteers of America and The Spokesman-Review, is funded by community donations.

This year, Guerrinha is scheduled to work seven of the nine days the Bureau is open. He’ll be working primarily as a greeter, a job he enjoys even though he’s typically reserved and quiet.

“That is my favorite part,” he said. “I go outside of my shell a little bit. I just absolutely love interacting with the families and the kids. It’s hard to explain. I’m just moved by it, moved by the need. I’m just glad the Christmas Bureau does what it does.”

When his two boys were young, Guerrinha spent a lot of time volunteering at their schools and coaching their soccer teams. He largely stopped volunteering when his boys grew up and left home, but five years ago after his divorce, someone suggested to him that he start volunteering as a way to get out of the house.

“I started doing volunteer work as therapy, if you will, with Second Harvest,” he said.

He also started volunteering with Blessings Under the Bridge, Northwest Harvest, Tom’s Turkey Drive and other organizations. He is a longtime donor to the Christmas Bureau and decided to sign up to volunteer four years ago.

“I was too late,” he said. “They already had all their volunteers.”

The next year he marked his calendar to make sure he applied in plenty of time to get through the approval process. That first year he wasn’t on the schedule that much. “I was kind of bummed a little bit,” he said.

After he made it known that he was willing to do a lot more, his schedule expanded every year. He has worked as a runner and also in the toy room. “The toy room is really neat to be in, because the families are coming in, and it’s so neat to see how excited they are,” he said.

Now he looks forward to the letter that comes every year, asking what shifts he would like to volunteer for. “Once you get into the Christmas Bureau as a volunteer, you’re locked in,” he said.

Guerrinha, who plans to retire next year, said he’s looking forward to being able to volunteer a lot more time than the 172 hours he spent helping local organizations in 2017.

“I can’t imagine not doing volunteer work,” he said. “It has become a way of life.”