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Volunteering, a legacy to live by

Name: Josh Reed
From: Colleyville, Texas
Votes: 0

Volunteering, a Legacy To Live By

By Josh Reed

There are so many things my parents have taught me, but one of the biggest
has been giving back to our city and community. This sense of
responsibility to our fellow man stems directly from my dad’s work
as a pastor of a small church. One of our first projects as a family
was S.W.A.T., a group of volunteers who gave up their Saturdays to
clean up the outside of school facilities, city parks and the homes
and yards of destitute widows in the community. Next was
volunteering at GRACE, an organization that focuses on feeding the
hungry around the DFW area. But what I am most energized by is my
weekly work with the children in our church. There is nothing like
speaking into the lives of kids and knowing that they are going back
into their schools and homes armed with Scripture, knowledge, and
love. Life change happens in the home, and I know I am a part of
forming the future of these kids. If I meet these young people in
twenty years, I am certain I will find adults living productive,
honest, meaningful lives.

Volunteering is sometimes done for people who are ungrateful for your efforts.
There are always kids and adults who feel that your gift of time and
money to them is simply inadequate and actually insulting. If I
didn’t have my parents constantly nudging me to step back into our
volunteer opportunities, I know I would have quit a while ago. Just
because some people are loudly ungrateful, there are just as many who
see your heart and appreciate whatever you are doing to help.

Volunteering is usually mostly boring daily or weekly work. Not many people stick
with it for the long haul unless they are able to brag about their
work on social media to boost their self worth. Even though I am only
18, I can see that the volunteers that start young, keep doing it for
life. That’s what I strive for. Football, good grades, and a great
job are all fine and worth working toward, but I know that being a
dependable volunteer brings even greater rewards, especially when our
rewards come for simply doing the right thing without expectations.