When Wayne Hawthorne and his wife, Maria, went hiking in Grand Canyon National Park 20 years ago, they faced an unfortunate turn of events: Maria broke her ankle. Following an emergency medevac to the park’s South Rim, she found help from a volunteer Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) ranger who transported her to and from the hospital for care. Hawthorne hiked out and later joined her on the South Rim.
Hawthorne, a senior licensing manager for Case Western Reserve University’s Technology Transfer Office, found the experience so inspiring he resolved to become a PSAR ranger himself. Already a licensed EMT and volunteer firefighter with his local fire department in Cadiz, Ohio, he’s spent a few weeks over recent summers volunteering as a PSAR ranger in Grand Canyon National Park, providing information to hikers on park trails, assisting injured hikers, looking for lost hikers and encouraging various hiking groups. He plans to do the same this year.
In recognition of National Volunteer Month, The Daily sat down with Hawthorne to learn more about his volunteer efforts and how they shape his involvement with the community.
A lifelong commitment
Hawthorne traces his lifelong passion for volunteerism back to his teen years cleaning up the town square in his hometown of Cadiz, Ohio, with his brother for his Eagle Scout Project. He’s wanted to help others in need ever since.
“Volunteering opportunities are all around each person,” Hawthorne said. “They just need to take a chance. Do what they can, when they can, and where they can.”
Today, in addition to his bi-annual PSAR trips, Hawthorne serves people in his local church, supporting its annual youth events. He also volunteers with Eight Days of Hope, a nonprofit that helps communities facing natural disasters.
Hawthorne has traveled across the country to support all three types of relief the nonprofit offers: cleanup, “mudout” activities (removing debris/mud from the home, including damaged flooring, walls and furniture) and repair (including new drywall, flooring, plumbing and electrical services) to help families and communities rebuild.
Volunteering is really a team effort for the Hawthornes. That—and the fact that they are now empty nesters—helps ensure they can make time for volunteer opportunities. Still, Hawthorne acknowledges that balancing home and work responsibilities can be difficult. He plans his volunteer hours ahead of time on the weekends and over his vacations.
Day-to-day applications
As a volunteer, Hawthorne knows it can be difficult to see all of the issues at hand. He applies a similar mindset to his role as a senior licensing manager at Case Western Reserve, where he’s responsible for helping researchers protect and commercialize their technologies and inventions. This includes filing patent applications, working with existing companies to license technologies or helping a new startup build a company around an invention.
“If you take the time to better understand a situation’s circumstances, you can better serve [the people at hand],” he said.
His years of volunteering have honed his listening and communication skills, ultimately improving how he interacts and works with researchers at CWRU.
“Everyone Wayne works with—whether an inventor or a co-worker in our office—appreciates that he is a singularly kind and dedicated person intent on serving others,” said Daniel Pendergast, executive director of TTO.
Looking to get involved as a volunteer? Hawthorne recommends staying flexible on the kinds of volunteer opportunities you seek.
“Be able to do something that is out of your comfort zone,” he said. “That doesn’t mean do something that you don’t have the skills to do, but everyone can do something like deliver food to someone, or to pick up trash in a park, or paint a wall.”
CWRU’s Center for Civic Engagement Learning offers countless student volunteer opportunities and information on volunteer agencies anyone can support.