Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”
I can attest to this. Some days, when I’m mindlessly bingeing on some show that I’ve gotten hooked on and getting that “too-much-TV-headache,” these lines I learned from a song in my childhood pop into my head: “Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?” When my answer is “No,” I turn my focus to others for a while and search for ways to do my part to make the world a better place. The funny thing is, I always feel better after I have done something to help someone else—even when it is really hard and I get super hot and sweaty and break a nail and no one else cares.
I recently read, service is trending. I can get behind that. I’m glad schools are getting in on the trend. My children have had service field trips and concerts and a class that required community service hours.
One of my daughters with a love for animals signed up to serve at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter and loved it. The most surprising service was when my teenage son went to help a large group of Girl Scouts on an overnight event at SciWorks of Winston-Salem (now Kaleideum North). When I picked him up at the end of his shift, just before the “no boys allowed” rule took effect, I grilled him about how it had gone. He told me he had helped them make paper out of wood. “It was pretty fun,” he laughed. “Kind of cool.” High praise for a 15-year-old boy. I was so glad to see serving made him feel good.
That’s what service does for us. When I was a kid, I had a quote from Rabindranath Tagore on my bedroom wall. “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” I am always grateful when my family can serve others and experience that joy. I’ve seen my kids become stronger and more compassionate through their service, but at times it has been a challenge to find service opportunities for them as well asmyself.
I’ve discovered a new tool that helps eliminate that problem. It is called JustServe. It connects people looking for community service options with non-profit service groups. People can sign up for causes they identify with and things they are capable of doing. For example, building houses for Habitat for Humanity is way out of my skill set, but,since I recently had a close friend go through breast cancer and know my way around an office, “Administrative Assistant” at Susan G. Komen of NW, NC would be a comfortable fit.
I feel very strongly about how much our community needs this kind of tool and have joined the committee that is identifying service opportunities in our area to include on www.JustServe.organd on the JustServeapp.
On Saturday, April 21st, from 10am–2pm, there will be a JustServeCommunity Volunteer Fairat The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints building, located at 4260 Clinard Road in Clemmons, NC. Everyone is invited.
This is a unique opportunity to connect with representatives from a variety of non-profit organizations in our area. You’ll have a chance to learn about different service opportunities and volunteer needs in our community, and helpers will be available to help attendees register on JustServe, so they can start volunteering right away.
