Healing Through Helping

Texas temperatures plunged to nine degrees below zero with the wind chill on February 15, 2021 and the thermometer stuck below freezing for the entire week. Roads were difficult to maneuver; Texas doesn’t have snowplows and salt trucks like northern states do. Restaurants closed, stores closed, businesses closed. Most people were huddled under layers of blankets, praying for the heat to come on to thaw frozen pipes, but not Elizabeth Andrus of Princeton, Texas.

At 4:00 a.m. she got up like she always does on freezing cold mornings. She braved the icy roads, driving to a nearby town to the McKinney Emergency Overnight Warming Station (or MEOWS) to make breakfast for the many homeless people sheltering there from the extreme cold. She greeted her fellow volunteers, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work. If you were judging only by positive attitudes and infectious smiles, you couldn’t tell her from the others in the kitchen, chopping potatoes, cracking eggs and making coffee. If it weren’t for the cute headband around her smooth head, you’d never know that Elizabeth is battling cancer.

Elizabeth is a regular volunteer at MEOWS. Whenever the temperature drops too low or cold temps are coupled with precipitation, MEOWS is open and she is on call, ready to help. You might think it’s amazing that a woman in the middle of chemo treatments would still choose to help others, and you would be right.  But what’s even more astounding is the fact that this isn’t her only service-related venue. She recently worked as a mentor at HUGS, a restaurant in downtown McKinney that teaches disabled people skills like waiting tables, taking orders, and working a cash register. During her time there, she taught people how to make and sell homemade pies and jam. Now she has a full-time job with the Salvation Army, organizing volunteers, soliciting donations, and matching people up with offered services and facilities.  When asked why she does so much when she’s got her own load of challenges, she laughs.

“I could sit on the couch and feel sick and sorry for myself and nobody would blame me,” says Elizabeth, “but why should I do that when there are still so many things that I can do? I’d rather focus on doing what I can, not what I can’t.”

Service isn’t anything new to Elizabeth Andrus; she was taught to care for others from a young age.  Her first memory of volunteering was going with her mother to visit an elderly woman.

“The skin on this woman’s hands was so thin, it was almost translucent. My mom and I just held those hands and talked with her, helping her feel like she wasn’t alone. My mom loved to help people,” Elizabeth remembers, choking up slightly.

Elizabeth undoubtedly inherited her mother’s servant heart. When she was thirteen years old, she learned about Candy Stripers, a nationwide youth group of teenage hospital volunteers. She immediately joined the program, volunteering at her local medical center to do what she could to help patients– from writing letters to painting nails. She was also very active through her teenage years with her church youth group, who adopted a school for disabled teens. Elizabeth would help them decorate the school for holidays and put on dances for the students.

“For a long time I didn’t have any family to nurture, so I reached out to the community to find those who needed caring and help,” she explains. “As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of the first things we are taught is to emulate Jesus. We believe that our actions speak louder than our words, and by serving we are demonstrating Christ-like love to those in need.”

As she grew, so did her desire to serve. She got a job at EDS as an accountant, but her passion for helping others swiftly transformed her professional life as well. Soon she was in charge of finding nonprofit connections to provide employees volunteer opportunities to help enrich their lives. She organized a company art show to add a sense of individuality and interest to work. The art show was so successful that it turned into a global online viewing event.  She was also involved in Junior Achievement, a huge organization dedicated to teaching school aged children about business ownership, hard work, financial independence, and how to give back to their communities. She worked with EDS on the Jason Project, which brings science and stem education remotely to schools, organizing a kickoff event to get people excited about becoming involved.

“I love being able to connect with people and network! For instance, I talked the chefs at Marriot Hotels into coming to do ice sculptures for our study of Alaska. And I got the zoo to bring in live penguins! No one can say no to me,” she said, laughing.

She also headed up a United Way Campaign at EDS that went so well that they asked her to run it two years in a row. When she asked her boss about it, he told her he wouldn’t hold her job if she took the position again. After some serious pondering and soul-searching, she decided the campaign was too important to drop so she took on the responsibility for another year, not knowing how she would survive without a job. The Vice President of Human Resources for EDS was so impressed by her dedication that she funded Elizabeth’s position in Community Affairs until an opening was created for her in the company working with community service.

 “I’ve always felt such joy in serving others,” Elizabeth states simply, “and I love sharing that joy with others. Think about it…when things aren’t going well at work or maybe at home, serving others helps you look outside yourself. Helping just makes people happier.”

For more information about the McKinney Emergency Overnight Warming Station, contact Paul Ballesteros at [email protected].  If you would like to find more service opportunities in your area, go to justserve.org.