Volunteer Reflections on Do Space Anniversary

In honor of our first anniversary, we asked some of our regular volunteers to look back on their year of service and time with Do Space. This reflection comes from Rick Long, a Technology Sidekick.

As an avid volunteer in my community, I always try to find a position that will allow me not only to help people, but to learn new and exciting things to add to my growing knowledge base. When I heard about Do Space, it was explained to me as,”a community technology library.” This intrigued me, I thought maybe it was going to be geared towards the more tech knowledgeable people in our city. But showing up to the open house close to a year ago, my family and I were blown away at the possibilities and the resources available to any one that walked through the door. The kind and well-seasoned staff wet my appetite to learn more about this place. Once I learned that they were opening positions to volunteers, I jumped at the chance to be able to work and play around with such a vast amount of technology and learning opportunities.

Helping individuals understand the complexities of the tech that they were forced to deal with daily and making it simpler for them has made me a very happy person. Since I have started, I have also included my two children Via and Zain who both now volunteer at Do Space, watching them help people with computer issues or even show a person how to use their phone makes me a very proud parent. I am so glad we have Do Space in our city, and I believe that it is going to be one of the most important institutions in Omaha. Being a part of its growth in the last year has been incredible, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Do Space in the next years to come.