Last night, 1/24/12, I had an amazing opportunity to share my story of volunteering through YouthFriends.  I thought I would post some of what I shared last night…

Most everyone wants to live lives that make a difference.  We struggle though to know either where to begin or what to get involved with.  I was in that place as a pastor about 15 months ago.  I knew I needed to be involved in people’s lives, but didn’t know where to start.

It was at that time, that YouthFriends Director (at that time) Diane Caton came to a gathering of Hutchinson Area Pastors and spoke of the great needs we have in our community.  There are numerous schools that have a large population on free and reduced lunch.  There are especially needs for male role models in schools.  Walking out of this meeting and hearing of that need, I signed up immediately.

After the brief training, I was eventually assigned by YouthFriends to be a WatchD.O.G. at Lincoln Elementary School.  In my brief time there, I’ve noticed 3 benefits of serving as a volunteer:

1) Relationships.  As a volunteer, I get to know the amazing people that serve in public education in our community.  I get to interact with teachers and staff.  This, coupled with the amazing staff at Communities That Care/YouthFriends positions me to succeed because I am related to people who believe in success.  I also get to relate to students.  I get to befriend and encourage children of all ages by serving in the school.

2) Change.  As a volunteer, I get to a birds-eye view into change at these levels.  I get to see students making progress.  In the case of Lincoln, I have seen the entire culture of a school change in a short time (more a testimony to the people there not me).

3) Focus.  Volunteering provides me to give a small amount of time to affect long term change.  My small investments are like throwing money in an interest bearing account for a long time.  The longer the investment, the richer the return.  Serving children in elementary school may position me to be a part of something bigger down the road in their lives.

I closed by thanking the volunteers and urging people to share their story so that others can volunteer and know these rich benefits.

If you’re not involved serving the community in some way, why not consider partnering with YouthFriends to make a difference.