KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Ask how 77-year-old Curt Robinson is these days and he'll say 'doin' good!'
Robinson says when you help others — it just feels good, and that's one of the main reasons he does it.
"My wife passed away a couple years ago, so it's just me and the dog and I need something to do too," Robinson said. "This way I can get that good feeling from helping my community ... so here I am!"
That first-in-line attitude towards helping began when the call for volunteers first went out in April to help with COVID-19 testing in Wyandotte County.
"I thought, 'Hey, that's right down the street from me,' so I started helping them in the health department parking lot," he said.
Fast forward eight months and he's still volunteering five days a week, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. because, "that's when they're open."
"They put up with me and I'm still here!" Robinson said.
He said he recognizes his age puts him at a higher risk for getting the virus while volunteering, but says it's not a big concern.
Just in time for Christmas, Robinson received the vaccine at the site he's volunteered at for months.
"I'm provided full PPE," he said. "I almost feel safer here than I do at the grocery store."
Robinson was born and raised in Wyandotte County, and said the investment in his community is personal.
"[It's] something that I just feel the need to do," Robinson said. "I'm starting to feel useful here and like I tell myself — it's better than watching grass grow."
When asked what, if anything, his late wife would say if she were alive and able to see his efforts during the pandemic, Robinson's tone changed.
"I think she would like it; I would not have done it if she was still here. She had health problems and I could not have been potentially exposing her," he said. "So I miss her, but with that, I could then do the volunteering."
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