Me: I need some ‘me time.’

Matt: It’s always ‘you time.’

Hmm. I suppose that may be true. To help change that, I was thinking about pushing myself into some volunteer work, but don’t really know where to start. Last year, I was a Running Buddy for Girls On The Run, a program that helps girls build confidence through running. That experience is one I won’t likely forget.

I told the organizers that I wasn’t all that athletic and was sort of afraid that my preteen counterpart would start yelling, “Hurry up! I have homework to finish!” as I trailed behind in exhaustion. So on the day of the 5K, they paired me with this chick who came dressed in jeans, a ski jacket, a scarf and clunky Sketchers. In her pocket was a king-sized Twix. I had a feeling this was going to be a long morning.

“Um, are you going to eat that while you’re running? It’s not very good for you.”

No answer.

“Oh. That’s cool.”

The race began and we were straggling way behind the others. The girl would run about 50 feet and then stop.

“My stomach hurts,” she would say.

“Well, we can stop if you want, but I think you can do this,” I said, only half-believing my own words. “You’re a great runner.”

She decided to stick it out. From that point on, I would have her point to some landmark — a tree, a trashcan, anything — and we would have to run to it without stopping. Then we would walk for 15 seconds or so and then she would have to choose another one. Miraculously, it worked. I used this method until we saw the finish line, where a giant crowd stood cheering us on.

After we received our medals, her two coaches started jumping up and down and hugging her. For the first time, I saw her smile.

“How did you do it?” they asked me. “We’ve been struggling all semester with her. We didn’t think she would ever run.”

By that point, the little girl had scurried off to her family and I lost her in the frenzy. But I felt good knowing that perhaps I made a small impact in a chubby girl’s life.

So, if any of you know of volunteer opportunities in the South Bay, please pass them along. I’m good with kids and teens, not good with manual labor (although I’m willing to try it) and would take an extra special interest in anything that involves a free T-shirt. Let’s save the world!