Dec 24, 2004  |  By: YUSEF NAJAFI  | COMMENTS     

I’m single, so they can be a little lonely, too.”

His faith also fuels his volunteer efforts.

“One aspect of Christianity is that when you are more spiritually centered you become a more giving and loving person,” Wagoner says, “you become more charitable and secure in yourself and God.”

Fern Antipol
This 52-year-old Jewish lesbian says Christmas is not a holiday that she celebrates, “so that leaves me with a lot of time to help out other people.

“Being Jewish, and not celebrating Christmas, it’s not too bad,” she says, “but there’s a lot of boredom when everybody is running around doing things, which is why I started to volunteer.

“It’s good for me, as well as those who are getting the help,” she says. “It’s like passing down hope. As down as you might feel, there is a chance to get back up.”

The native of the Bronx in New York City moved to D.C. in 1979, and works as a legal secretary for a law firm in Northwest, D.C.

William Ogle
This 46-year-old native of Germany says, “My grandmother taught me that you have a duty to help others.”

He suffered a spinal cord injury 12 years ago, when he was involved in a car accident with a drunk driver. Since then, he has been living with a disability.

“I got into volunteering because I have all this free time,” Ogle says, “and I really enjoy it.”

He became affiliated with Burgundy Crescent Volunteers in 2001, and started helping out at Charlie’s Place in February. “I have no family in this country, so these are days were I can do things for the staff so they can be off to be with their own family,” says Ogle, who is single. “And it gets me away from those God-awful TV programs, which are depressing.”

He sees an ongoing need for volunteers in D.C. “It’s great to see them now,” he says. “I just wish they’d be around the rest of the year.”

Jonathan Walz
In addition to volunteering with Burgundy Crescent, this 34-year-old art history graduate student at the University of Maryland, in College Park, is a part-time employee at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

“There is this sort of idea that we should be nicer to each other this time of year,” he says, “but the spirit of Christmas is all year long so, for me, I do