Margaret Schultz, volunteer
You are relatively new to the community. How has the Garden helped anchor you to Des Moines?
I have been here six years, and the Botanical Garden has been and was instrumental in making me feel welcome. I moved here only knowing a few people and no longer worked, so I didn’t have a huge network. I felt it was important to get involved, but I never thought I would meet friends at the Botanical Garden I would spend time with outside of volunteering.
What inspires you to keep volunteering?
When you volunteer here, you can see the impact you make. But I also like the people—the staff and the volunteers. Everyone here always makes me feel valued and appreciated. It has become a shared community for me.
What has surprised you about volunteering?
I am surprised by how big a part of my life it has become and how much I really care about it. This is more than just a volunteering gig to me. Gardening is my therapy. I have volunteered at other places, where you help them make a difference, but it’s not quite the same here. Here, it makes a difference in the overall quality of my life, too.
