This weekend, I drove with my husband to the Arizona town of Winslow. He is a volunteer high-school assistant basketball coach, and his team was in round one of the state championship.
They lost after a fierce fight on the court, but Adam was proud of “his kids.”
We have no children yet, but we both have “kids.” His kids are his basketball players; mine are the kids of the same high school’s We the People team, a program dedicated to civic education. Both sets have been adopted through volunteering.
I have found that volunteering is not usually a priority for college students. Between studying and classes and the social aspects of the newfound freedom that inherently comes with a college experience, volunteering tends to be pushed into the background.
This is, of course, not true for everyone. But it is true enough that President Barack Obama felt compelled to declare a Day of Service on the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Jan. 19, the Obama and Biden families participated in volunteering, from visiting wounded veterans at Walter Reed Military Hospital to building homes with Habitat for Humanity. Later that day, President Obama urged all Americans to find time to serve their communities.
He has created ServeUSA.org and MLKDay.org, Web sites with ideas for serving communities in a variety of capacities. ServeUSA.org also emphasizes the AmeriCorps and Peace Corps programs administered by the federal government.
As these Web sites demonstrate, there are so many programs and organizations with which a person can serve. Locally, there are schools, libraries, the Humane Society and scouting troops. Nationally, there are organizations such as the American Red Cross or Big Brothers Big Sisters. There are organizations devoted to politics, the environment, education and more.
These organizations need help from all sorts of people. Whether you prefer to work by yourself or with others, inside or outside, there is a place for you. Whatever your passion, there is a place for you.
The wonderful thing about volunteering is that you can choose the pace.
You can choose if you volunteer one weekend a month at the local library, or read to kids one day a week in an elementary school classroom.
Even though you have classes and parties — and soon enough, spring break — to worry about, I challenge you to try worrying about someone else.
Whether you coach a little league soccer team or serve meals for the homeless, I would be surprised if you didn’t get as much from the experience as they do.
Janne wants to know how you help the community. Let her know at janne.gaub@asu.edu.
