Helpers converge for holiday

In Craigslist’s random ocean of housing swaps, motorcycles for sale and vegan discussion forums, a tiny tide began a few days ago with these words: “Want to volunteer with me on Christmas in D.C.?”

With that, Sally Smith, a 27-year-old Texan who this year for the first time couldn’t afford to go home for the holidays, found herself unexpectedly commanding a little holiday army of volunteers.

An African immigrant and his family.

A young veteran.

A couple on a date.

By the time they converged at 10 a.m. Thursday in the lobby of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center here, there were nearly 70 people, shocking the Santa-outfitted coordinator who organizes volunteers on Christmas.

“Usually, I’m lucky to get eight or 10 people,” Rich Landon said.

The story of Smith’s group is one of a volatile economy, a shaken-up political climate and a culture in which people sometimes feel more comfortable with the anonymity of the Internet than with the church soup kitchen next door. Their backgrounds were wide-ranging, but the reasons people joined Smith’s volunteer project -- which included six events Christmas Eve and Christmas Day -- were variations on the same theme: Something feels different this year.

“It’s been a hard year in general for everyone, and a couple weeks ago I just thought volunteering seemed like a good way to spend Christmas,” said Shreya Patel, 33, who works in information technology with the Internal Revenue Service.

Three days earlier, Patel had found Smith on Craigslist and decided to break with her tradition of staying home with her family.

“They’re like, ‘You’re going where? To some hospital? You met this girl on Craigslist? You’re taking a friend with you, right?’ ” Patel said, chuckling.

The group included those who rarely volunteer as well as those who do so weekly. But most said they had never volunteered on Christmas.

“This year, I wanted to do something radical,” said Olu Olunuga, who brought his wife and two children, 13 and 10, to meet the group at a Starbucks to sign cards for veterans before heading to the hospital.

Olunuga said he wanted to encourage his children to focus on others: This year, there would be no gift-giving, and they would volunteer instead of eating and hosting friends on Christmas.

“Over the years, they just get and get. I asked them, ‘Do you want anything you don’t have?’ ” he said.

Olunuga went to Google a few days ago and typed: “Christmas” “volunteer” and “Washington.” Smith’s post popped up among the options.

By 9:25 a.m. on Christmas Day, 30 people were signing cards at the Starbucks. “Merry Christmas and thank you for your service to our country. Oki,” read one. “Merry Christmas, God bless you. Tope,” read another.

By 10:15 a.m., Landon, a coordinator for the nonprofit group the Holiday Project, which connects volunteers to projects, was in the medical center lobby, sweating in his Santa suit as he tried to quickly organize dozens of people.

Then it was up the elevator, in waves, and onto the Community Living Center floor.

Every room held a story, including that of an 80-year-old who had graduated from West Point and served in the Army Corps of Engineers but could not remember basic details of his life.

“Here’s a card, sir,” said Mauro Mujica-Parodi, 26, a former Marine who delivered one signed by the volunteers. “Can I look at it?” the man asked.

“Yes, sir,” Mujica-Parodi said as the man opened it.

“Oh! A lot of people. Do I know any of them?”

“No, sir,” the younger veteran said deferentially.

In the next room was volunteer Moo Eiselstein, 30, a military police officer for five years at Ft. Hood in Texas. He came calling on World War II veteran Angelo Macaluso, 87.

“I thank God another Christmas I’m here!” Macaluso said, standing and saluting as his son teared up. “A lot of my colleagues didn’t come back.”

By 4:30 p.m., Smith was exhausted. The two-day volunteering extravaganza ended with a rousing round of “Silent Night” in Washington Hospital’s intensive care unit.