Forum Date: Monday, October 08, 2012
When I was a little girl, books were my best friends. My parents took countless pictures of me after I had accidentally fallen asleep on a huge pile of books. I never let anyone else borrow my books, for fear of the spine getting creased in the whole "sharing process." Plus, who knows when the urge to re-read a book would strike me? And call me crazy, but the smell of opening an old library book made me the happiest person alive... and it still does to this day. Just to fill you in on my volunteer hours up until now, I am planning on volunteering with Success by 6 at their Mall-o-Ween event. On Halloween, I'm going to help pass out candy and books to children at the mall. I can't wait!
One of my all-time favorite children's books is The Giving Tree. That story, although geared towards a younger audience, can teach everyone an important lesson about giving to others.
John Lane, our guest speaker from the last class, summed up that particular moral by saying that, "Giving is more than money, but it is never less than money." Each of us have time (although not very much) and talents in abundance. There should be nothing standing in the way of us participating in our civic responsibility. Civic responsibility is defined as the "responsibility of a citizen." It dates back to Ancient Rome whose citizens wanted to help the Roman Empire. Today, less people are willing to volunteer out of the goodness of their hearts. John, who happened to be my favorite speaker to date, was one of the few exceptions to that fact.
One of James's triplets, James, was born with cerebral palsy. Because of that, he and his family became acquainted with United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). That organization sponsors the Life Without Limits marathon on October 27, which is another volunteer opportunity for us. When his son passed away, his family started visiting the Healing Place and Ms. Kay Parker, and remained active volunteers of UCP. As I listened to this man talk about his love for his family and the causes he is involved with, my heart melted. Just by listening to him talk for a short amount of time, he impacted my life and motivated me to become a better person.
I still vividly remember everywhere I have volunteered because my civic engagement has impacted my life as much as it has touched the lives of those I help. For example, in high school I got the chance to travel to Atlanta, Georgia to volunteer with Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. I inspected and packed boxes (with toys and necessities) for underpriviledged children in third-world countries. I will NEVER forget the atmosphere of that warehouse. Everyone there was in such happy spirirts and had such good hearts. November 12-19 is this year's box collection week and I plan on donating one!
The way you feel when you change the world and give to others, however, doesn't have an expiration date.
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