Each week we bring you the story and perspective of an outstanding volunteer. This week, meet Peter York, a Business Brigades volunteer from Miami University who recently participated in a Brigade to Panama.
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Joining global business brigades was an easy decision for me. As a freshman accounting major you might imagine that there was 
not much excitement and glamour, but more importantly, nothing to be passionate about. I’m happy to say, however, that since joining Global brigades I have had countless opportunities to feel inspired: Nights where sleep has gladly been put aside in place of racing thoughts that can’t wait until morning, or thoughts that relive me of sleep in the early hours of the morning and compel me to action. Times when I sit down to write a couple notes and before I know it I’m tearing through pages, my hand unable to keep up with the ceaseless flow of ideas. I will be the first to admit that I love this rush, and it contributes greatly to my enjoyment of the organization. However, this enjoyment is only allowed because of the realizations I’ve come to and the journey to find my place within the global brigades mission that I believe in whole heartedly.
While only so much is possible within the 8 day span of a brigade, it can be difficult to truly grasp the purpose of the organization before going on a brigade. Accordingly, while I thought I had a done enough research and was open enough to be prepared for my first brigade in December, that was not the case, and my mind was thoroughly blown. It wasn’t the conditions of the village or the educational material we presented which caught me off guard, that much I had more or less prepared for. What I hadn’t anticipated, however, was the passion which I discovered flourishing within the individuals I met with and power with which that personal connection would affect me. Seeing what they had already done with so little allowed me to grasp on to their vision for the community, and made believing in their capacity to achieve change come second nature. For those 8 days I poured myself into the efforts of the community, and if but for a brief period, my self seemed to melt away into the greater communal goal of attaining quality of life. It is that feeling which I am grateful to the people of Piriati, Panama for allowing me to experience with them, and while I knew that those 8 days were simply a taste, I’m happy to say it left me hungry for more. I only wished that more of my fellow brigadiers had shared the powerful experience that I had.
While my first reaction on returning home was to immediately go sign up for the peace core, I realized that that was probably unrealistic. But I was left asking myself, if I couldn’t go do more for those people, then what was the point of the trivial period of time I just spent committing to them?
That’s when I realized the potential of the opportunity that still lay ahead of me within brigades. I knew that at some point I would return to development work for a more substantial time commitment when I was able, and in the meanwhile I had the opportunity to help create in as many people as I could the same hunger that I had been fortunate enough to gain from my Brigades experience. I realized that from my perspective, one of the most valuable contributions made by brigades is not simply sending people on week long missions, but also creating dedicated individuals that will carry on the perspective of empathy and compassion for others throughout their lives and strive to make an impact for those of lower means and it became my mission to help them realize that capability.
As VP of Recruitment and then VP of project development I was able to do all I could to ensure throughout preparation for the next brigade that we had only members that were committed to the mission of the program, and that they were as well prepared as possible to embrace to opportunity. It was then to great fortune that it was announced that through this brigade I would also be able to hit two birds with one stone and realize my wish of returning to help the people I had previously worked with, as we were assigned to work in the same community of Piriati.
While I’d like to say that I played a part in it’s coming together, upon the second trip to Piriati I was amazed to see how quickly 
our members came to understand the power of melding their passion with that of community members and taking ownership of the communities goals as their own. It was obvious that the desire to help was there, and with a little push in the right direction they began to flourish. They really took the reigns on their own experience, and it made me immensely happy to see that they were getting the most out of it. Also, while I could plainly see the joy that it brought our members, I could also see how much a difference that it made for the community members to have people who genuinely cared about their wellbeing and their future. This mutual emotional investment was evident in the many tearful goodbyes at our departing, and I can truly say that for many, the strangers we had met just a week prior were now a second family as we prepared to leave them in Panama. This was difficult thing to do, however, they were not to be forgotten and I know that it is their permeating memory that will compel members to return to similar work some day or even to return to that community like I did.
There are many great aspects about Global Business Brigades, but for me, what has been the most tangible has been that spark that comes from unconstrained commitment towards improving the human condition. This is because it is a force that not only touches those being supported, but that fulfills both parties and leaves only a passion and hunger for more good. These feeling may weather from the distractions of day to day living, but I know that in at least some members they will not be allowed to burnout, and it is those individuals who will lead the evolution for a better planet.
