Not a lot of people would describe volunteer work as "a kick in the pants," but for Missy Ford, that's exactly what it was. After this semiretired publishing executive's husband passed on, she decided to move back to her native California to be near family. Newly widowed, Ford saw community service as a salvation of sorts.
"I just instinctively knew that volunteering was going to be the kick in the pants I needed to get me out there and not retreat into a shell of grieving," explains Ford, who now lives in Morro Bay. "Not to see myself as a widow, but to see myself as capable and able to express all the spiritual qualities that are inherent in me."
So Ford went out and found a place to express those qualities—on the board of Friends of Hearst Castle, an organization that offers support and fundraising for a nearby state historical monument. That led to a stint with Habitat for Humanity and now with the Central Coast Children's Choir, which helps to compensate for music cutbacks in area schools by teaching children to sing and providing them with choral performance experience. Ford also conducts services as First Reader at her local branch Church of Christ, Scientist.
