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Making Lives Better through Community Service
July 10, 2015 4:59:03 PM
 

Doug Duncan recently spoke at the Fort Gordon Transition Summit, offering tips to transitioning military members on how to successfully find a job after exiting the service. 

The Chamber of Commerce, The Boys and Girls Clubs or The Food Bank: what do they all have in common? Well, whether working on pro jobs-related business regulations, collecting cans of food for the hungry, or teaching disadvantaged young people to read, each gives a unique opportunity to serve the community in which you live and make lives better.

Many of us are very blessed! We have a roof over your heads, food to eat, and clothes to wear. This is in part due to the communities in which we live. Giving back a few hours of volunteered time is a small price to pay. Frankly, giving up a little free time to volunteer may seem like an imposition to some, but the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction received by helping others is so great, it can’t be measured. Volunteer work makes us feel good, builds self-confidence, and lifts our spirits.

You may wonder the effect of volunteering in the US. According to the Corporation for National Community Service, 61.8 million individuals in the United States contributed 8 billion hours of volunteerism in 2014 alone. The economic value of all this volunteering is $162 billion US dollars.

Volunteers are critical partners of and participants in communities throughout this country. Service can be through actively giving time to a formal organization or taking part in what is sometimes called “informal volunteering” where citizens voluntarily participate in community activities or provide personal care for family, friends, neighbors, or even strangers as part of accepted cultural norms of giving and reciprocity.

Volunteering is one of the best ways to make a difference in your community. Whatever your passion, however you get involved, volunteering offers a way to have a real and lasting impact on lives.

So ask yourself. How am I doing? Am I making lives better in the community which has given me so much?

To read about MAU’s commitment to community involvement click here