In 2023, then U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report titled “The Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation."
It found that many Americans lack social connection, which can contribute to poor mental and physical health. According to the report, “loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29% respectively.”
A program in Springfield has been helping people find social connections – and a purpose for eight years.
Greg Burris started Give 5 when he was Springfield City Manager, and he currently leads the program at the United Way of the Ozarks. Burris recently told KSMU it's going to go on pause for awhile in June, but there's another cohort planned for April, 2026. Give 5 is now in various forms in 11 Missouri cities and four states.
Burris calls it a civic matchmaking program.
"We help them discover what's going on in their own backyard, truly inspiring work, whatever touches their heart," he said. "Then we just help them make that connection, and then they can decide if they want to volunteer or not. It's — volunteering is voluntary."
A cohort of around 20 people meets on five separate days and visits a variety of nonprofit organizations in the community.
"At the end of that program, it's like drinking from a fire hose," said Burris. "You're learning about hundreds of volunteer opportunities."
It’s aimed at retirees, but anyone can sign up.
Burris said around 98% of graduates have ended up making connections and volunteering. And volunteer opportunities can be life changing for folks needing more social connections.
Mark Harsen said he’d be lost without his volunteer position at Crosslines. He has two regular shifts each week, but he sometimes works up to five days. He found out about it while going through Give 5.
"What I really got out of it was that there's a lot of need in Springfield. There's a lot of people who are situations through no fault of their own that just need a hand up," said Harsen. "And I'm just a compassionate person that wants to help and give back."
Volunteering has made a huge difference for Harsin who retired and realized he missed connections he’d had at work.
"So coming here, I've got a new set of friends. I've got a new home, and this is a home for me," he said. "And, you know, we're processing the different senior boxes. The different clients come in, and I know them, and I know their situation. And there's a lot of people that I love. And we hug, and it just really gives that connection and has really helped me with loneliness."
Harsen said he gets to be in contact with people he loves and cares about – both guests, fellow volunteers and Crosslines staff.
Two more Crosslines volunteers, Debbie Rollinson and Renie McClay, fill other roles at the nonprofit, which serves those facing food insecurity in the Springfield area.
Rollinson, who volunteers at other nonprofits as well, had retired and was searching for ways to use her talents and give back to her community. She was familiar with nonprofits in the area but Give 5 helped her see the various roles she could fill.
"Crosslines just offers so much, and the Crosslines staff make it so easy to be here," she said. "And they're so welcoming and appreciative. And it's just fun to get to know the clients and, you know, just visit with them the brief little bit you're with them, but, you know, hopefully be a help and a bright spot in their day helping them...get the things they need."
She said there’s a selfish reason she does it, but also a more altruistic one.
"I'm helping others, but it helps me to be out and just be amongst people and doing — when you're at Crosslines, you're doing good things," she said. "And, you know, they can make a dollar stretch like nobody's business around here. And they do so much. And it's just so much fun. Like, Christmas is coming up and the toy store and...helping somebody pick out Christmas presents for their kids on a Saturday morning is, there's nothing better than...getting to do that with people."
McClay, a social person by nature, moved to Springfield while still working virtually with people from all over the country. Her friends here were busy with grandkids, and when she retired, she needed to find more social connections. She went through Give 5 during COVID, which was all virtual, and then had the chance to go through it again in person.
"I got to meet new people in classes that I think people had a lot in common with new people at the nonprofits. There were nonprofits I didn't even know about. I wouldn't have known about them, and so that was cool. And then when you're volunteering, you're meeting, you know, new people because you're volunteering now with people that you have something in common with. So it was good for building kind of a network and making friends."
Crosslines and other area organizations cannot run without volunteers. The City of Springfield recently started a formal volunteer program. Pat Watson moved back to Springfield from Texas where she’d been a professor and department head at a university. She started volunteering at the Springfield Botanical Center, heard about Give 5 from a fellow volunteer, went through the program and started serving as Reading Buddy for Council of Churches (Watson is a reading specialist). She learned about a paid job opportunity from her bus buddy at Give 5 – someone she sat beside while visiting nonprofits. Now she’s the SGF Ambassadors coordinator for the City of Springfield. It’s a volunteer program that’s modeled after Give 5.
She's able to use the skills she used during her career at the new position.
"Because I'd done a lot of online teaching," she said, "I had familiarity with some of sort of similar software programs and project management and recruitment and just lots of things that aren't directly related but are kind of adjacent that have been really fun. I feel like it's been a good match."
Jeff Gould and Jo Cisna work with Watson as volunteers for the City of Springfield.
Gould worked in Silicon Valley, and during Give 5, he heard a presentation by Cora Scott, public relations director for the City of Springfield. He approached her after and when he learned the city needed help with software for its volunteer program, he jumped at the chance.
"I think Give 5 is a terrific vehicle to help people overcome their natural resistance to going out and trying something," he said. "And there's a couple of reasons behind that. One is you get a lot of exposure to a lot of different opportunities, so you're more likely to find something that's going to be interesting and exciting to you. But also, you get yourself out and into a group."
Cisna who worked as a nurse, went through Give 5 during COVID and learned about the need for volunteers at the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. She worked in COVID response, reaching out to people who’d been diagnosed with the illness and helping minimize its spread. She went through Give 5 in person later, and that’s where she learned about the opportunities at the city. It’s a place where she feels she fits in well with others in the program.
"We each have the ability to shine where we have strengths, and I don't have strengths in technology, so I've got partners that do, and that's how we make it work."
All of the volunteers encouraged others to find their place in the community where they can give back, make friends and find a purpose — or a new one.
You can find out about nonprofits and volunteer opportunities in the region here.
Gould said they’re contributing something of value and still being productive members – not of the workforce, but of the volunteer force.
Support for Making a Difference is provided by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
Nico Burasco provided production support for this story.