Article by Tanya Erway, Volunteer Solutions Recruitment Coordinator
(Posted 2022 April)
Spring is a time for growth and appreciating the beauty around us. This season appropriately coincides with National Volunteer Month. Every April, we recognize and honor the beautiful ways volunteers make our communities better. National Volunteer Week was established by the U.S. government in 1974, and later expanded to National Volunteer Month. This initiative has since been adopted globally by other countries. This year’s National Volunteer Week is April 17-23, and the Points of Light organization reminds us that it’s a time for “shining a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve.”
Meet Mujeeb Chowdhry, a gentleman who shines his light wherever he goes and exemplifies what it means to be a compassionate volunteer. He smiled as he shared, “I like volunteering with Fairfax County. It’s very organized and there are so many options.”
Mujeeb arrived in the U.S. from Pakistan in 1997 and lives in Centreville with his wife, Seher (originally from London), their two children, and his 86-year-old mother. His son is a junior in college and his daughter is a high school senior. His devoted mother relies on the family for transportation and other needs. His father, a former petroleum engineer, lived with them until his death in 2016. Mujeeb understands and empathizes with the needs of older adults and others. “The struggles that my parents have faced helped me help others, too.”
Mujeeb prioritizes being of service to others as a volunteer while being dedicated to his long career as an IT specialist at the National Archives and Records Administration. He explained that as a Muslim, his religion teaches the importance of helping others. He described three levels of service: helping immediate family members; helping extended family, friends, and neighbors; and helping strangers.
As a disaster relief volunteer with Humanity First, Mujeeb wore hazmat suits for four days in 2012 while cleaning flooded, moldy basements and a park in New York City, after Hurricane Sandy. Four years later, he did it again. This time, in Jacksonville, Florida, for two days helping to clean up after Hurricane Matthew.
In 2017, Mujeeb took a multi-day course to become a vetted volunteer with the Department of Family Services’ (DFS) Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS) and has continued to attend annual trainings. Under DSVS, Mujeeb participated as a volunteer in the Anger & Domestic Abuse Prevention & Treatment (ADAPT) program, a compassion-focused program that teaches emotional regulation skills. During the 18-week program, he provided supportive help to an Afghan male participant. The course included three hours in class and one hour of homework, weekly. He interpreted and translated in Urdu (one of four languages he speaks) for a total of approximately 72 hours over 4 ½ months. He would drive long distances after work, from his then-office in Maryland to volunteer with the ADAPT program.
Mujeeb continues to find new ways to volunteer in the community. In early 2018, he registered and completed the steps required to be a DFS Volunteer Solutions volunteer. His first role was as a Meals on Wheels driver, and he delivered meals monthly. Since that time, he’s taken on additional roles as a medical transportation driver and grocery shopper for several older adult clients. He’s been instrumental in reducing social isolation, connecting them with necessary services and supplies, and even utilizes his Hindi-speaking skills. Under Volunteer Solutions, Mujeeb also delivered Thanksgiving meals and boxes of food to Meals on Wheels recipients two days before the holiday. On Thanksgiving Day, he and his family went to Reston Community Center to sort non-perishable food for a local food pantry. That same week, he and his family cooked and delivered food to a neighbor they know personally.
Interwoven throughout these years, he’s carved out time as a volunteer secretary at his mosque, taking notes, and planning events, and teaching teens twice a month at Sunday School.
When you speak with him it’s apparent Mujeeb doesn’t do these things for accolades. He volunteers because his actions improve others’ lives. Communities are better because of volunteers who give the invaluable gift of their time. It may not be glamorous, but it can be deeply rewarding.
Contact us if you are interested in volunteering for Volunteer Solutions, Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, or in any other capacity within Fairfax County.
This article is part of the Golden Gazette monthly newsletter which covers a variety of topics and community news concerning older adults and caregivers in Fairfax County. Are you new to the Golden Gazette? Don’t miss out on future newsletters! Subscribe to get the electronic or free printed version mailed to you. Have a suggestion for a topic? Share it in an email or call 703-324-GOLD (4653).