Bob Schuur, of Dowagiac, is Dowagiac City Council member. He is also an active volunteer in the community donating his time to the Cemetery Board, First Christian Church and the Beautification Committee.

How did you get started volunteering?

Oh, I’ve always done it. I’ve always liked to be involved in my church.

What do you do when volunteering?

I do little bit of everything. I’m the person people complain to when things go wrong. Pretty recently, we painted the fence at the cemetery, when some people complained how the old section looked. So, we looked around and found the same paint and painted that. When we realized what a nice difference that made, we decided to repaint the whole thing, so whenever we have a free day, we go and do that.

What do you like about volunteering?

I do believe we should all do more volunteering and that we can never do enough.

Why do you think volunteering is important?

If everyone did just one thing to volunteer, even if it is just pulling weeds on the city curbs, it makes such a difference. Whenever I go through the cemetery, I go through a less popular route and pick up the branches I come across, and even that makes a difference. It doesn’t take much to make Dowagiac a nice place to be.

How would you like to see young people volunteer in the community?

I would love to see a volunteer group for the cemetery. The stones could be washed or things like that. I have no idea how to do that, but if someone does, I would be the first person at their meeting.