They say couples who volunteer together, stay together. Aidan and Alison, a married couple living in Kansas City, Missouri, are newer volunteers to Bridging The Gap, having volunteered both separately and together multiple times over the past year. They both agree that, whenever they can, volunteering together is a great way to spend time as a couple doing something they both enjoy.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourselves!
Aidan: I grew up in Kansas City in the Brookside area, born and raised, and went to St. Peters as a kid and then went to college in Manhattan, Kansas, which is where I met Alison. When we first moved back to Kansas City together, I worked in sales, until recently, when I started a new career at Pet Resource Center of Kansas City.
Aidan and Alison started volunteering with BTG in February/March of 2024.
Alison: I grew up in Olathe and ended up going to Kansas State University for a degree in biological systems engineering. We met working at a restaurant together while we were in college, and we’ve been together for about 10 years. We moved back here, and I started a job at a pumps manufacturing company, and then I transitioned to working at Johnson County Wastewater – so a big environmental-based career.
Q: How long have you volunteered with BTG. In what ways?
Aidan: So, I myself started back in March 2024, and I started with tree plantings, and then I volunteered at the recycling center, [did] the seed collection, and then we also did the invasive species [removal].
So you guys have almost done it all!
Alison: Just about! Though not as much as we would like to, for sure. Yeah, the same goes here – I started about February or March of last year and have done just about a little bit of everything – the trees [planting] and invasive species [removal] and native seed gathering. It’s always stuff that I enjoy doing outside.
Q: How did you first learn about BTG?
Alison: When I came back to KC, Bridging The Gap was always something that I wanted to get involved with. It took a while for me to really settle into my career. I actually volunteered at Powell Gardens for a while, soon realizing that that was really far away – it was worth it, but at the same time it was a pretty long trek – so eventually I started to look for other opportunities that were closer, and Aidan also wanted to start volunteering, so we both found Bridging The Gap. We’ve really enjoyed what you do! It helps that there’s weekend opportunities, so we can still do our work and then have time to volunteer together on the weekends.
Q: What motivates you to volunteer?
Aidan: For me, I have the mindset of I’d like to leave the planet in a better place than when I found it, so that’s been my main motivator. Nowadays, it seems like some people might not care enough. By that I mean, politically, it feels like we take one step forward and two steps back, so I want to do what I can where I can.
Alison: That’s essentially my same main motivation. I’ve always been environmentally conscious my whole life, so wanting to make a difference and always kind of focusing heavily on what I can do to make things better for everyone – including humanity, the environment. I’ve always based my career on that as well, so just continuing on that path.
Q: Is it important to you to volunteer together – and why?
Alison: I think it’s definitely fun for us to volunteer together. This is one thing that we both agree is important to do, and spending our time together doing it is a benefit to us. I think it actually makes us pretty happy. We get to spend time together. We get to talk with other people that also appreciate the work that Bridging The Gap does. And then sometimes we go out afterward and get lunch and just make a date of it.
Aidan: If I can, I love to volunteer with my wife. We haven’t always been able to. Like for the recycling center, I did that one on my own just because it was during the weekday when I went.
Q: What’s been your favorite thing about volunteering with BTG?
Aidan: I like being able to go to places that I don’t normally see. Like we went to [pauses to think] well it was when we were tearing down the honeysuckle…
Alison: Oh – Grandview!
Aiden: Yeah, Grandview. I wouldn’t normally think of going hiking in Grandview…You never know these spots are there. I’ve never seen a paw paw tree in person before, let alone, heard of it before I was 20! It was amazing to see them all growing in that one area.
Alison: Yeah, I think that’s a good point. It brings us to a lot of beautiful places in the city, and then we get to help those areas, either with [removing] invasive species or seed collecting. It’s also learning more about what kind of projects that Bridging The Gap does for the city and all the people that not only work for you but also want to volunteer. It’s really nice to – you know – being in a city that’s very car forward and you see a lot of litter happening and a lot of things where you feel like there’s not a lot of green in the city – being able to meet people and see all these projects to know there are not only people who are pushing for these things, but it’s happening. Sometimes you feel alone and wanting to do something, but you’re not sure what to do – the weight of the world, you kind of feel like it’s on your shoulders, but there are other people helping you hold it up.
Q: What have you learned through volunteering with BTG?
Aidan: I’ve learned a lot as far as identifying plants. Learning which trees are native and which ones are invasive, like the Bradford pear tree.
Alison: Yeah, and then the invasive honeysuckle that we took care of. That was actually interesting to learn about the process that Bridging The Gap takes with cutting it down and then applying a low level herbicide to it – that was really interesting.
Once you see honeysuckle, and you know what it is, you can’t not see it. It’s everywhere.
Aidan: Right!?
Alison: Oh yeah, we took down so much in just a small area!
Q: What are you interested in or passionate about, environment or otherwise?
Aidan: I’m passionate about a lot of things. As I said earlier, I work for Pet Resource Center, so animals are a pretty big one for me.
Alison: We have 3 cats and a dog, so we’re very passionate about our pets!
Aidan: I would probably have more if I could…
Alison: There’s a city ordinance! You can only have four pets! But no, seriously, we’re always wanting to care for animals in any capacity we can. We are always the people that other people ask to watch their pets. We also have a lot of plants. Right now, we probably have about, what, 75 now?
Aidan: I would assume more than that. At one point, we were up to 100.
Alison: I’m all about trying to find ways to grow plants and cuttings. I am currently trying to grow more food and herbs indoors during the winter time.
Aidan: I’m the devil on her shoulder that says “buy another!”
Alison: And, of course – we’re passionate about each other!
Aww!
Q: What would you say to someone who’s thinking about volunteering?
Alison: I would say absolutely do it.
Aidan: Yes, definitely. And like I said before, a bonus is getting to see parts of the city you normally wouldn’t.
Alison: Getting to meet other people who care about the environment, and you know, just want to do something good for the community. And then, I mean, you get to learn so, so much. Not only the way that we go about planting trees or collecting seeds or how we recycle, but you get to learn more about what drives other people to want to do those things, too. For me, especially, always having that feeling of “Is it just me?” – you get to learn that there are other people who are passionate about these things, too, who want to help, and then you start developing relationships from there.
Bridging The Gap has year-round volunteer opportunities! Check out our calendar to explore current opportunities and sign up.
