Think About It

One of the things that has made America great to this point is volunteerism.   From the beginning of the history of our nation, people have been willing to invest their time, their finances – and most important of all – themselves into our communities and our country.   However, as I look around at volunteer agencies today, it seems that volunteerism is waning.   Whether it comes from a sense of feeling too busy to help, a belief that unless someone pays us for our time/expertise we aren’t going to be involved or just a flat-out refusal to help others, people don’t seem to be drawn to volunteering.   While this may be a growing trend, it is a damaging one.   First, due to decades of cost-cutting, many of the programs that used to be publicly funded are no longer receiving funds and must depend upon volunteers.   If we believe in the value of non-essential services that improve our communities, we’d better be willing to invest our own time and money.   Second, when we volunteer, we all