David Levinson was not born a volunteer.
“I completely backed into this,” insisted the founder of Big Sunday, the nonprofit responsible for the largest regional community service event in America. “It wasn’t a natural thing for me at all.”
In the context of his current vocation, it’s a little tough to believe: There are just a few weeks left before this year’s Big Sunday weekend, which will take place May 14 and 15, and Levinson is hard at work directing, organizing and connecting thousands of volunteers with different organizations all over California.
Last year’s Big Sunday drew over 50,000 participants, volunteering their time at more than 500 different charities and social service organizations around Southern California, and this year Levinson has good reason to expect more — the event has grown exponentially since its inception in 1999.
This year, for the first time, the group has forged connections with companies in the Bay Area, such as Oracle and TriNet, that reached out to Levinson, joining up as corporate sponsors and helping to host events such as dinners for the homeless.
There also will be several volunteer projects going on in the Bay Area, including a barbecue for residents of a family shelter in Hayward and a park clean-up in Sacramento. Several of the events are full, though there are spots left for opportunities in the state capital, and there’s still time for participants to start their own small projects, such as lemonade stands, for established charities.
As for backing into the volunteer life? Levinson, a Los Angeles resident and father of three, was a screenwriter for films during the mid-’90s when he grew depressed about his life’s work.
“I’d been working in what they call development hell, doing all these movies that got sold but never actually made,” he explained on the phone from L.A. In an effort to get out of his slump, he began volunteering with a charitable group at his synagogue called Families in Need, collecting linens, dishes and other furnishings for hardworking homeless families that were being moved into permanent housing.
Pretty soon, he found himself running the group. He discovered he had a gift for organizing people, and for getting others more involved. Not long after, his synagogue threw a Mitzvah Day, and Levinson’s rabbi asked him to run it.
Twelve years later, that Mitzvah Day is a statewide, weekend-long volunteering party, and part of a nonprofit that works year-round to coordinate would-be volunteers with organizations in need. Volunteers help cook, garden, build homes, clean up parks and beaches, collect food and clothing, mentor kids and much more.
Levinson emphasizes the importance of doing something you love. “Some people think they’re supposed to be miserable when they’re volunteering,” he said. “If you hate cooking, don’t do it! There’s somebody else out there who loves to cook … If you really don’t like to be with homeless people — it can be scary, they can be mentally ill, and that can be threatening. Maybe some day you’ll be up for it. The bottom line is, in the meantime, you can be very happy while making yourself helpful.”
For those not sure where to start, Levinson urges would-be volunteers to think about their strengths. “People say ‘I can’t do anything,’ and I say ‘Do you have blood?’” he said with a laugh. “I mean, really: People need blood transfusions.”
In his book, “Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins,” which will be released in paperback May 1, Levinson recounts a turning point in the founding of Big Sunday — when he realized, after the first big Mitzvah Day he helped to plan, the importance of reaching out beyond his Jewish community.
“We had a big crowd from the temple there,” he recalled. “And it was 300 nice Jewish people, but it felt a little funny. I was a little uncomfortable being, you know, the cavalry marching in to save the day.”
The next year, Levinson reached out to churches, schools, and non-denominational social groups in the L.A. area, drawing 800 participants.
But the third year was when things really changed, Levinson said. A case worker from Covenant House, a Catholic group that helped troubled youth, called and said some of the organization’s kids were looking to get involved — but instead of signing up to receive help, they wanted to see where they could volunteer.
“That was really interesting to me, because these kids had nothing,” Levinson said. “And then there they were, from a gospel church, hosting a car wash for this other youth group called Students Run L.A., which trains at-risk kids to run the L.A. Marathon, and they were joined by a youth group from a synagogue. I just thought it was so great that they did it together.
“That was really when it went from being a community service day to a community building event,” he added. “It’s this idea that everybody has a way they can help somebody else.”
As the event continues to take off, Levinson thinks often of his own accidental journey. He says it underscores how volunteering benefits everyone involved — and can be especially helpful to those going through a rough patch.
“I think it’s empowering to people to know that whatever they’re dealing with, there’s somebody out there who can be touched and helped by them,” he said. “That’s how I got into it, so I’m sensitive to that. It’s a really powerful thing.”
Big Sunday Weekend 2011 will take place May 14 and 15, at locations all over California. To learn more, find an organization in your area or get tips on starting your own volunteer project, visit www.bigsunday.org.