This month's special volunteer is: BILL WILSON - Computer Supply, Feeding the Homeless. LCM Gift Shop.

1. Why did you decide to become a Volunteer?

I retired eleven years ago. I was doing all sorts of things - mainly collecting computers from all sorts of places (companies, etc.), fixing them up and then giving them to churches and schools .... rather hit and miss. My friend, Lee Cormer, volunteers in the Gift Shop at Little Company of Mary Hospital. She told me to talk to Marylin Camerer who then contacted Hope [Witkowsky]. So it was a rather circuitous route that I took. Marylin really got me involved by contacting all the hospital Department Heads and telling them to give me a call if they needed any computer work doing. This activity then gradually evolved into helping out at the Thrift Shop and the "Feeding the Homeless" program. This last item came about through the friends I had made at LCM - Bernie Slotnick and, of course Lee. Lee started up the LCM Gift Shop eighteen years ago. Lee is also involved with Temple Menorah at a church on 190th Street and I volunteered to put in the lighting for the parking lot there (I was an electrical engineer many years ago). Although I decided to become a volunteer to just fill in the time I had, it just mushroomed from there!

2. What does volunteering do for you?

Well, for one thing, it keeps me off the streets! It's also very satisfying - it truly is! For example, I got computers for a church down in San Pedro that's in a rather hard up, depressed area. I ended up getting seventeen computers for them and they tell me that they now have seventeen kids working on them every night of the week. One of the people there told me that there was a lady working with him who had a daughter serving on board a Navy vessel out in Iraq. He said that this lady would love to get a computer so that she could e-mail her daughter out there. I got a letter about a month later from this lady that brought a tear to my eye. She said that her daughter had been over there for the last 6-8 months and that she used to have no contact with her for months at a time. Now they get to exchange e-mails up to twice a day! That really made me feel good.

3. How long have you been a volunteer?

I've been doing this now for about ten years. I got involved with "Meals for the Homeless" almost immediately after starting at LCM. I do that every Wednesday night at United 1st Methodist Church in Redondo Beach. Then on Thursday evening I do a similar activity at a church associated with Temple Menorah on 190th Street. Last Christmas I got a call to see if I could help out serving meals at "Beacon House" in San Pedro. They had a lovely breakfast and lunch served there, capped off by a visit from Santa Claus and his elves. They gave out almost 1,000 gifts that were all individually wrapped and labelled to make sure that they were given to the right age of each boy and girl that was in attendance. I got to talking to one of the fellows that was there and he told me that they were just starting a computer school. I've been able to provide them with eight machines so far.

4. Have you made any good friends from this job?

I've made so many, including Hope of course.

- How has this changed your life?

I never thought that I would be doing this when I reached the age of 75 but I enjoy all of it. Out of all that I have been exposed to, I haven't found anything that hasn't been enjoyable.

5. Where do you currently volunteer?

Apart from the places that I have already mentioned, I get calls at home about searching for available computers. Bernie Slotnick helps me out here. He is very well connected and gets computers that are replaced from Grumman, TRW, and various other companies. Last week Elaine called me from the RSVP office to let me know that she had a lady that wanted to get rid of a computer that her son had left behind when he left home, so I went to pick it up. That kind of thing happens quite often.

6. What would you say to anyone who thinks they are too busy to volunteer?

I'd say that they really don't know what busy is! They are the ideal kind of person to do this kind of thing. Although you don't get paid cash for doing it, there are so many other ways that you are paid - not the least of which is meeting all those that are also involved this way.