Welcome to the Voices for Voices podcast
sponsored by Redwood Living
thank you for joining us today I am
Justin Alan Hayes founder and executive
director of Voices for Voices host and
humanitarian
you can learn more about Voices for
Voices on our website
Instagram and Facebook as well as
YouTube
Voices for Voices is a 501c3 non-profit
charity organization that survives
solely on donations so if you are able
to please consider heading over to our
website voicesforvoices.org to help us continue our mission
and the goal and dream to help three
billion people over the course of my
lifetime and beyond
please join me in welcoming today's
guest my parents Pat and Helen Hayes
thank you for joining me today thank you
thanks for having us today yeah, I
thought it was an important to
bring you in and talk about
how Voices for Voices got started and
how some of the things as a as a family
have really helped Propel me in what I'm
doing today and I just thank you for
coming in so I'll just jump in and
the first topic I want to just
talk about is dreaming I remember
several years ago being in Dublin Ohio
and I had I was probably about nine
years ago
and I had just found out that I was
going to be teaching at Walsh University
and that was something that I wanted to
wanted to do and to finally get that
opportunity was very exciting and I
got a card in the mail
and when I found out about the job
opportunity
my now wife Charlene and myself we
were returning home from
Disney World for a vacation and so the
card had Mickey Mouse on it and it was
talking I remember the exact quote but
it was talking about dreaming and how
going after your dream the if you
dream anything's possible and to go
after that and so when I got that card
really solidified
myself and wanting to do wanting to
do more not just maybe the regular nine
to five corporate job of you know how
else can I help how else can I impact
the community and help others
and that really brings us to the Voices
for Voices organization and podcast
so first I just want to ask both of you
about dreaming and why is dreaming
important to both of you and
and really go from there
I think dreaming gives you hope and it
builds confidence in yourself
and it also lets you know that each day
is an opportunity for something new to
be available to you
and then it helps you to start realizing
that true happiness and success is
attainable through your daily actions
and so I think we have to be patient and
keep working at our passions
sometimes we
want to grow we want we dream and we
want that right now but it we just have
to wait a little while you know
sometimes and keep working at it yeah
there's a few things on my end
I think first of all
you have to have a dream before dreams
can come true
in reality
people
who refuse to follow their dreams
for fear of what others think are
missing out on life
research has clearly shown that people
are more likely to regret what they
didn't do than what they did to I'll
repeat that again people are more likely
to regret what they didn't do more so
than what they did
the only yes you need to is to follow
your dreams is yours
dreamers fail now and then
in life
but you learn from failure
and you never stop giving up and on your
dreams
and like I said you have to dream before
your dreams can come true
and it’s all yeah very important I
think it is helpful for our audience to
we'll be doing this
on television as well as audio to
understand that
dreaming is okay sometimes I think
Society might tell us we have to stay in
place we have to
do what we've been doing or what
somebody had asked us to do or a
roommate or a friend and I think finding
the niche of what
you as an individual or me as an
individual want to do and what makes
happy to not just attach a dollar amount
to to a job that there's more of an
emotional connection at what what you're
doing that an organization might be
working for they have goals and
aspirations as an organization and
sometimes they don't take every employee
and their input into mind and so as
individuals as employees as human beings
the things that make us make us happy
and feel validated I think are huge
and so for our listeners our viewers
that that's something that hopefully
over the course of this podcast series
that were very lucky to be able to have
now an audio and video to be able to
share with as many people here in
Northeast Ohio in the Hudson community
also the United States and across the
world with followers of mine and the
organization and so dreaming is
important it's okay
sometimes you try things sometimes you
fail but when you learn from those
failures and once you find that Niche or
that thing that you really are
passionate about I think that's
the point where as an individual stress
levels might lower a little bit because
you're doing something that that you
care about instead of just punching in
the clock to
to help a company that has other goals
or aspirations and that frankly at the
end of the day if times weren't jobs
get cut and so when an individual is
dreaming and doing what they want to do
they're a little bit more in control of
what what's happening and things don't
happen overnight this this organization
started in 2020 and it started with an
event and now it's grown to a podcast
it's grown to helping others Ukrainian
refugees and Warsaw Poland mission trip
our organization did earlier this summer
and I think that when I help others and
and do things from a small thing of
you know helping an individual that
might be down their luck and give a
couple dollars or a bottle of water or
something to eat to an individual that
might be down their luck that might be
homeless that some of us might look down
and say well why don't they just go
get a job and sometimes there are
things that we just don't know about and
from having mental illness myself
knowing that there's sometimes things
that we don't all see and to help
others is really for me and
organization is satisfying and it really
began with my parents and wanting
to not just getting that card and
reaffirming that it's okay to dream and
it's okay to chase after no matter how
long it takes no matter how many no's
you get
now Babe Ruth said that he had been
asked about you know does it bother you
how much you've struck out so
much and he responded and he said
yeah, I do strike out a lot and but I
don't think of it like that I think of
that each strikeout is one strikeout one
head back closer to the next home run
and I I think dreaming is a lot like
that that it may take some time to make
those connections to get input to
get somebody behind you to really give
you that boost that you need
let's move on and really on that
giving back topic
why is it important
to you to help others like you both
have and they both do I know Mom you've
done many things recently you're
helping at the hospital and being a
volunteer and Dad you've been with
Meals on Wheels and helping out and
I and I know we do a lot of clothes
donations when things we outgrow, we
don't wear so just you talk about like
where that came from maybe growing up
with
my grandparents your parents and
kind of to today
I think
my parents
instilled in me
helping others and
it's more blessed to give than receive
and I truly
feel that way when I am
volunteering or giving of myself
there are others in need
and I feel thankful for all the
blessings God has bestowed upon
myself and my family
and as far as the Meals on Wheels
when I drive for the meals on Wheel
organization
I reflect on
my parents and Helen's parents
receiving the service at the time when
they were
at home and couldn’t get out
and it's a very important
service to provide not only the meal
aspect of it delivering
but face-to-face contact with the
person
it might be the only person
you might be the only person the driver
for the meals
that they see all day long
and that's basically
work started from
my parents and
it's more blessed to give than receive
and I I truly feel that way
when I do
give of myself and time and volunteering
in that aspect and
just to add a little bit on my Note
when I retired from the schools, I had a
lot of time on my hands and I was
reading through the paper one day and a
local hospital was asking for volunteers
so I decided to become a volunteer at
the hospital and my job was working at the
information desk and that's when people
come into the hospital and ask for
directions and you know help them find
their way and sometimes we walk with
them sometimes we you know direct them
to where they are going and
a small joke of one of my volunteers and
I we would always say we loved our
job because we could tell people where
to go
we just you know kind of giggled to
ourselves about but people are very
appreciative you know I mean going to a
strange building and you know trying to
find your way you know and just a small
thank you just immense means a lot you
know and being able to help people and
just see people's Smiles you know are
very heartwarming yes right now at this
time of the year especially there's
a real need for volunteers
different areas one is Salvation Army
ringing the bell for the kettles
Salvation Army is
a wonderful organization that helps
those that are in need
and
there's just the whole list of different
areas
you're able to volunteer and give of
yourself and help others
and it really does truly
make you feel good inside and thankful
for all that you have
yeah, and I think what's important about
what you both said is people think
of giving back and helping that it was
always included with money and donating
money but it's also donating in time and
just talking and helping somebody get from
point A to point B a relative a
friend a colleague might be in the
hospital or not knowing where that
individual is at which room they're at
so having that service of helping that
individual get to where they need to go
and if they do need help and then again
with helping others not only
with a meal with the Meals on Wheels but
yeah, a lot a lot of people that are
receiving that service they might only
see that one person that's delivering
that meal that day and so
that's huge we don't have to tie
a dollar amount to when we hear giving
and equating giving for those of us just
joining us this is the Voices for Voices
podcasts sponsored by Redwood Living I
am your host Justin Alan Hayes I'm
joined with guest today my parents
Pat Helen Hayes and we're talking about
life about dreaming about giving back
like the organization Voices for Voices
that I founded which our organization is
centered on Mental Health accessibility
and inclusion to give everybody an
opportunity to share that voice and I
think it's important to give everybody
that opportunity and especially give an
opportunity like that to my parents to
to be able to share that the big part
of my life my extended family's life and
I I think that what we're talking
about will resonate with a lot of a
lot of people and we talk about faith a
little bit going to church praying
how important is that to both the both
of you and how does it make you feel
does that help with the giving aspect of
that thought process if you make your
parents again that I didn't instill
that going to church being younger and
and if you may touch on that topic a
little bit
growing up
my parents who are Justin's grandmother
and grandfather and he calls them
Grandma and Grandpa greenhouse because
they live in a greenhouse which
but it was kind of cool that he gave him
that name my parents were humble
we were just a close family we were you
know just we lived out in the country
and we just enjoyed
each other and our family
and my parents led by example they
took us to church they live by their
faith and I try to live like my parents did and
I pray daily and I attend Mass
and I believe my faith comes by hearing
the word of God
and I believe my faith led me to become
a Eucharistic minister at our church
Saint Mary's and which has been more
than 40 years ago and I still feel
blessed each time that I serve
and I'll let you
I think our parents are the ones that
form us as a person
we become and by the way they live their
lives
in the example they said
as far as
volley turn at church I'm lector at St
Mary's I felt a need and a calling to be part
of the mass
in a small part of me giving back
to God for all he has done for me in my
family and to give thanks for all that we have
Life Health
family
in our home and for Jesus dying on the cross for our
sins
I just
feel
that I'm doing a small part
to give back and show
my appreciation
for what God has blessed me and our
family with
our parents
lived a life
and walked a walk so to speak
do their hard work dedication
and the need
having faith in their lives and that
spilled over I think to
myself
in the way that
I wanted to give back to the church
yeah and for the listeners and
viewers out there that might be thinking
that oh this is a
a podcast or a talk about
you have to go to church and hear
things that you must do these are
just our experiences and what we've gone
through so
if that is something that you or your
family or colleagues or friends do
that's great I’m not here to
push anybody to one faith and
that you must do something one way or
the other I think what the important
thing that I want to really get across
is find that again coming back to the
dream and find that thing that you
like to do that you you’re passionate
about that you would do for free and
find the ways that can help you optimize
that and so for myself and my family
going to church and being Catholic and
praying and being part of for me being
part of the men's group those are things
to after many years of falling away from
from the church those are things that I
I feel that are they're helping me if
that helps you great if there's
something else that helps you that
that's also great this isn't a push one
way or another again that the
organization as Voices for Voices so
everybody has that opportunity to have
that
voice and share their voice and their
their experience and we'll have and
we have had plenty of plenty of guests
on the Voices for Voices podcast of
varying degrees of faith and
non-faith and things that have helped
them and so I invite you to you know
take a look at our other
podcasts that we had and definitely
into the into the future find that thing
or those groups of things that help make
you happy and that you're passionate
about
and if it there are things that help
optimize it whether it's eating well or
exercising or spending time with family
or traveling whatever those may be
if those help in any small way or
big way goes after it so I just want to
put that disclaimer for anybody who's
watching or listening thinking that this
organization is all about going to
church and faith and really leading
into our last topic is traveling
our family my family my mom dad
my wife Charlene my now three and
a half not on four-year-old daughter
Rosemary we like traveling on different
different places different areas and we
find the for us that when we go to
different areas and travel that we get
an appreciation of things of you know
whether that's things that we have at
home that we might take for granted I
know with our organization and going
to Warsaw Poland and helping
200 Ukrainian refugees that that
put in perspective and really
centered myself of like wow like what
would I take with me if
I had an hour or 30 minutes to pack one
bag and to leave and so little
things of being able to take a shower
to eat a meal when you want to eat it
where you want to eat it not worrying
about air raid sirens and those types of
things that don't have to worry about
and so if kind of this last topic
talking about travel and how I was
your travels throughout the years and
and your recent trip to Europe
maybe helped us put in perspective of
learning things maybe and then not
finding things we might take for granted
I just we just had the opportunity
finally to make the trip that was always
a dream
of mine to go to Ireland
and the British Isles
we're able
to finally make the journey this past
October
it was two years wait because of the
pandemic and the virus
put everything on hold countries were
shut down
but we were finally able to
make the journey
to Ireland England Wales and Scotland
myself being a golfer one of the dreams
I always had was
to play or and see St Andrews Golf
Course where the British Open has played
on the old course I didn't have the
opportunity to play but
we had the opportunity to walk some of
the fairways and actually
walk on the same grounds is what all the
great golfers and were the
golf was originated
and to see it firsthand and in person
and live
the places that you see on television
at the time you're there it strikes you
a little bit but the further time goes
on
it really hits you that hey I was
there and we were there and
as far as the other
aspects of traveling over to the British
Isles
seeing places that you see on television
firsthand
the educational part the architecture
we were in England and in were
the Queen's funeral was we saw firsthand
that we had seen on television when it
was taking place
traveling
just kind of gets you away from the
Daily Grind and
fulfills maybe some of the dreams if you
hit you've had about going to places and
seeing different things
okay
you covered that very well for us I
guess I just wanted to add at the end of
this as your mother Justin the trip you
took to Poland
it worried me a lot for your safety
but you know we're thankful everything
worked out for you and for you to want
to help people help strangers
to take clothing and books and personal
hygiene items and buying food for people
who were very hungry
as your parents to our son you know it
it warmed our heart and thankful that
you would even think to do this and then
you made it possible you know we just
want to let you know that
we always will support you and look
forward to your next adventure wherever
whatever it may be
thank you for having us we're proud
to have you as a son and for all you
do for Humanity
and
the person you are and have become
through your life
so
thank you for having us thank you for
having us today you're welcome thanks
for joining us
as
Taylor Swift is going to be kicking off
her eras to her in in 2024 this
podcast this taping audio visual
everything 2022 going into 2023 for
Voices for Voices it's a new era for us
to be able to bring the voices of
everyday individuals to the world and
and to help individuals
so I want to thank you for joining us
for this episode of the voices for
voices podcast
thank you also to our guests my parents
Pat and Helen Hayes for spending some
time with us
until next time I am Justin Alan Hayes
founder and executive director of voices
for voices host and humanitarian have a
great day and be a voice for yourself or
somebody in need
[Applause]
[Music]
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