Thanks for all the kind words from the Huffington Post. Here's a link to the full story: www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/24/drew-johnson-volunteeri...

Dallas Morning News Interview

“It's as American as baseball and apple pie”...and Iowa!

I've often heard that an Iowan is the heart of a true American, the example of all that is good in our great nation, the state is in the center for a reason, and that there is no group of people who are kinder, nobler, and fairer than those who are from Iowa. While this might be a slight overstatement, I was always told that the proof is in the pudding, so...

I came into the state digging out from a blizzard in Minnesota and word had it that I was going to be in for more. The drive was absolutely breathtaking with the empty fields looking like an ocean of snow. The sky was a crystallized blue and the air smelled crisp and cold. I've been down highway 59 many times before, but with all the snow and cold, it made it seem almost mythical.

The first stop was in West Des Moines where my friends Tim and Heather live. They were so kind to let me crash in their sweet Star Trek / Star Wars guest room and to provide me with hours of intelligent conversation about life and philosophy. On top of just being great friends, I was also treated to an array of award winning, home-cooked dinners. Thanks again you two!

Monday and Tuesday came and went with me not being able to volunteer at the scheduled places due to the below zero temperatures and the current influx of volunteers at the last moment. So I spent my time working on 48by48.com, prepping for the upcoming live chat event, and collecting winter gloves for an organization I was scheduled for later in the week.

I left the Des Moines area on Wednesday morning and headed for Chariton, a small town in rural, south central Iowa. I worked at First Baptist Church in Chariton for a little under five years, serving as the youth director. When I rolled into town, I headed for the church and asked what I could do. I was given a potpourri of tasks ranging from office administration to website work to moving chairs to scraping off puddy.

Churches and other places of religious worship are always looking for people to get involved with community development and charitable works and I thought it would be great to volunteer at a place I know to be instrumental in caring for their community. FBC has different ministries to help people with emergency needs like food, clothing, medical bills, housing, transportation, etc. They also work along side the Ministry Center in the community, opens their building to programs like W.I.C., sends out care packages, and is very active in the Angel Tree project around Christmas.

I'm not trying to say that they are the only ones who do this in the Lucas County area, I just want to give them credit for being an active participant in caring about the communities needs and being willing to say, “how can we help?” The are doing a good work in the area and I was excited to partner with them by volunteering in whatever area they needed the most help. One another note, it's a lot of fun to work alongside good friends. Makes the serving time go fast and the laughter doesn't hurt either.

The snow and wind came in fast and even though it was a whiteout in the country and the National Weather Service issued a no-travel warning, I braved the morning roads and headed back to Des Moines to work with Habitat for Humanity doing demolition and gutting of a house close to Drake University. What a treat to work alongside such great people!

We spent the morning and afternoon hauling out loads and loads of drywall, paneling, boards, flooring, and brick. The experience was one of extremes. You see, the basement had the propane tank heater which made the space very warm but once you stepped outside, you were greeted with a twenty mile-an-hour wind coupled with cutting snow and sub-human temperatures. All I can say is it was worth every pain.

While working, I was treated by meeting part of the staff who worked in the office part of the organization. They offered to take me to Planet Subs for lunch to which I gladly accepted. A big thanks to Amber for using her most valuable “free sub” card on a wandering volunteer. They were great at answering my questions and made me want to get more involved down the road. Habitat for Humanity is one of my favorite places to get involved and I encourage you and your family or church or business to serve at your local Habitat at least once. I guarantee that you will be back to help again. That's what happened to me...I signed up to help again on Saturday.

This time at a different house with a bigger crew and with a colder temperature outside. I stripped floors, crow-barred trimming, and pulled up a bucket full of nails and staples. Once again, you get a great trill knowing that these houses will quickly become homes of families who need a place they can afford. Thanks to the help of Habitat, that dream becomes a reality. It's worth your time to head over to their website to read about the process or for you to volunteer at a site and to work alongside the people who will be residing there.

I was scheduled to help out on Friday with Hope Ministries, but due to the weather, I did not make it up there. I've worked with Hope before and know what kind of a charity they are. Even though I wasn't able to physically be at their center to serve, I asked what they needed most to help minister to the poor in their community. Mens  winter gloves was the response, so I talked to a few people in town and went about collecting gloves which I mailed to them the following week.

So...was there enough proof to say that Iowa is all those things mention in the first paragraph? If it was based on the people I met and the ways they are meeting needs, then...yes...definitely. I highly recommend that you get involved with any of these organizations to judge for yourself.

Onward to Nebraska! More corn anyone?

The reason for heading North during the winter months was based upon one event that just so happened to be in the Twin Cities on December 19th. My cousin Greg was getting married and I wasn't going to miss it. So I spent the Saturday with my family celebrating this joyous occasion.

I left Sunday morning to head even farther north to stay with my friend, Bryant, who works up in Cook, MN. He offered me a place to stay and also wanted to join in on the volunteering. We headed for Duluth on Monday morning looking for people to serve. Without finding people out and about (a lesson I thought I learned a few states back about cold weather and people staying indoors), we used Google to find out where some of the local charities.

We stopped by and simply asked if there was anything they needed help with. We were informed they could use some help later in the afternoon to do dinner prep and serve the meal and clean up. Four o'clock rolled around and so did we...back to the Union Mission. Wiping down and setting up tables, prepping food, preparing plates, serving meals (Sloppy Joes), packing leftovers, washing dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, taking the garbage out, and a handful of other common tasks were the focus of our service.

It's a great feeling volunteering next to a friend and I heavily recommend serving others in groups. It allows for encouragement, creativity, and way to break down what you experienced. I'm very thankful for the people who are willing to take a risk to join me in my endeavors.

After spending a few nights in the Northern Minnesota, the weather in the South decided to make things more interesting. A mega-storm was heading for the state and was forecasted to bring up to forty inches of snow in some areas. The system was slow moving and was going to be in Worthington (my hometown and Christmas destination) by Wednesday night, so I headed for Hibbing, Minnesota on Tuesday to help the Salvation Army with their annual toy handout and Adopt-a-Family event.

I arrived at the Irongate Plaza by 9am where the event was taking place. I met the kind folks who were helping out and was given my instructions. The responsibilities of the morning and afternoon were relatively similar: loading a cart with the pre-registered bags, pushing the cart through the mall to the loading area, and packing the persons vehicle with the presents, coats, and food. This is a great program to be involved with and I implore you help out in some capacity with your local Salvation Army branch. The Northern Minnesota branch really is living up to their slogan, “Doing the most good.” Keep it up!

When all the containers were handed out, I asked if there was anything else I could do for them; having nothing more for me to do, I gassed up the Mazda and headed for the Twin Cities. I stayed the night with a long time friend (thanks Keith!) and planned my Wednesday in light of the approaching colossal storm. I had made plans with Open Arms of Minnesota to deliver meals on Wednesday during the noon hour and figured I could still make it to my final destination before sitting in a ditch for the holidays.

Open Arms of Minnesota “offers a unique model of care for people in our community who are sick, need nutritious food, and have no where else to turn for assistance. We are the only nonprofit organization in the state that prepares and delivers free meals specifically tailored to meet the nutrition needs of individuals living with serious and life-threatening diseases.”

After driving around in a circle for fifteen minutes, I finally found the distribution annex. There was so much energy coming from this place. People hauling over-sized dufflebags in and out of the main entrance, cars positioning for a parking spot, directions being given to the drivers, along with the delicious aroma of freshly prepared steak coming from the kitchen...what a great place!

I let the director know that it was my first time serving and was excited to get my orders. Pete (volunteer coordinator) kind of hesitated when he handed me the directions to the three homes. He asked if I was familiar with the St. Paul area. (If you've ever been to St. Paul, MN before, you would know how messed up the streets are.) I told him I'd make it...and I did. Loaded the car up and drove to my stops, handed out the meals, and then headed back to the main building.

While I was on my last run, I had a little trouble finding the right apartment on a very strange building. I ended up asking some of the local residence if they had any idea. I was quite fortunate one gentleman was able to speak English and informed me there were more residences in the back. Success! Also, while I was out searching for the last meal stop, I got a call from Pete who said that WCCO was there. I told them I'd be back within the next hour (let's just say that a GPS would have really come in handy).

I handed back the insulated cooler and then was shown how the kitchen operated. They make all the meals in their own kitchen and really do a good job. I still had about an hour to help out and they handed me a peeler and knife to dice up carrots for a soup later in the week. I got my pile done and had to say goodbye. (Click here to see the WCCO news story.)

The drive to Worthington is normally about three and a half hours from Minneapolis...I made good time and was slammed by the snow and wind about a thirty minutes away from my hometown. Thank goodness for being in a state where most of the people have a good amount of winter driving experience!

I spent Christmas with family and was safely inside while thirty inches of snow fell over two days. (A new record for the 24-25 of December!) This gave way for me to volunteer spontaneously by scooping and scooping and scooping snow. A very simple way to help others, especially the elderly or disabled and you get a great workout in the process.

With all the excitement from the weather, it was hard to leave. Couple that with it being a state I lived in for more than twenty-one years...it was nearly impossible...but I must press on.

Trekking through the snow to Iowa!