In 2011, I decided to make the transition from working in the financial world and found I was at a crossroads in life. I wanted to find work that was meaningful and that inspired me -regardless of the pay. As you can imagine, this wasn’t an easy transition. I decided to start my new life by giving back to the community, and began volunteering at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Ca.

This was hands down, one of the best choices I’ve ever made. There was and is something so loving and rewarding about doing something for another human being and not expecting pay in return. It didn’t matter what my personal story was, when I volunteered, I’ve been able to expand out of the familiarity of my world and reach those who are in need of help, compassion and love. The look of gratitude and recognition on the faces of some of the people I’ve served, has made the sacrifice worth every minute.

Amazingly, shortly after I began volunteering, my personal story began to change too. I not only became a volunteer at Cedars Sinai, but I began working there as well. Then in 2014, I discovered I had aggressive prostate cancer. Suddenly, I went from being the one giving the care, to the one needing it. It was during this time that I really began to appreciate the importance of helping services and organizations that help those in need. I even found one that helped me step out of my cancer story and give back to a community of people I never dreamt I would. A Fresh Chapter foundation helped me and many other cancer survivors, travel across the world to volunteer in countries like India, Africa and South America. I quickly realized, how blessed I was and how grateful I am for all of my story… even the tough parts.

Now, after travelling to and volunteering in the US, UK and India, I have come back to Los Angeles, CA and continued my career at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, working in Cancer Survivorship and Rehabilitaion. And with over 400 hours of volunteer service since 2011, I continue to volunteer at Cedars Sinai assisting patients who can’t feed themselves and manning the help desk at the critical care department.

Exciting news! I’m now expanding upon volunteering by joining with the Men’s Cancer Support Breakfast group I created at Cedars Sinai, to start a volunteer program where we come together on the first and third Saturdays of every month to donate our time to support various charities and nonprofits across Los Angeles.

If you’re interested in joining us on our weekend adventures in volunteering, please fill out the short questionnaire below and we’ll contact you.

Thank you and God’s speed,
Bin Mclaurin