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By Lisa Cole Lisa Cole is a freelance writer and a trustee on East Point Academy’s Board of Directors. She lives a small town life near Columbia with her husband, four children, hamster, and rescue pooch. Follow her tales of southern parenting at LisaBCole.com.

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Capitalism and selfishness drive modern narrative. Exchanging time for personal

gain eclipses the old-fashioned "Love Thy Neighbor” refrain. Work matters rank above connecting with those around us, and turning the other cheek erodes into turning a blind eye.

The instinct to protect our own heart often flares, and love leaves us vulnerable as a babe in winter after private expectations of others remain unmet. To counter these trends, Co-lumbia offers many unique ways to push love forward for those willing to share the goal of fostering a better society.

The call to impact humanity is as ancient as time. Building a life while facing the unknown breeds insomnia. Marital struggles, mistakes in child-rearing, and caring for aging parents drop us to our knees. We hunger for glimpses of compassion, and we thirst for reassurance that we are not alone. One intentional kindness can save us from the depths of despair.

Who understood this better than the ultimate Sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ? In a world far removed from today’s insta-gratified society, Jesus spoke to the need for personal sacrifice and human touch. "When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so,

for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." (John 13: 12-15).

His infinite wisdom also ignored the temp-tation to demand a return for those acts of service. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). He taught, led, served, and volunteered his entire life for the restoration of mankind. Why has society stepped so far away from such intentional, personal kindness towards others?

Do you desire to volunteer but are unsure where to begin? Look to the unsung heroes already affecting humanity in powerful ways. Janis S. of West Columbia serves 30 families through a no-charge, no-fee, bi-weekly food co-op she founded five years ago. She orders bulk produce from the State Farmer's Market and hauls it home in her minivan. Friends then divvy it up, place it in clothes baskets, and set them around her living room to await pickup. Thanks to her efforts, multiple young families enjoy healthy fresh fruits and vegetables at rock-bottom prices.

Ayanna White provides disposable diapers to impoverished families through her organiza-tion Power in Changing, a Midlands based

Community

VOLUNTEERING: Matters of the Heart

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non-profit devoted to “Empowering families from the bottom up!” by hosting bulk diaper drives and facili-tating redistribution. Both of these women homed in on struggles that affected their own families and turned it into a successful community out-reach.

Other residents walk dogs at Pets, Inc., host food drives for Harvest Hope, offer specialized skills to SisterCare, gift clothing to Hannah House, babysit for families in crises at St. Lawrence Place, donate breast milk to Mother’s Milkbank of South Carolina, and organize Silent Auctions for Children's Trust and EdVenture.

Many more give intense energy to committees (such as School Improve-

ment Councils, Parent-Teacher As-sociations) and boards (such as school boards, Richland Library Friends) that drive communities forward in powerful ways. Even so, the ongoing need for those willing to show up and give of themselves is still high.

As part of The Junior League of Columbia, a 1,500 member organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers, one of my most potent memories stems from a Ronald McDonald House volunteer shift. Each December, children who pass their days confined to a room at Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital enjoy a fantastic Christmas Party.

A flurry of activity transpires as vol-unteers wrap presents, arrange food, prep crafts, and decorate the hospi-tal’s Ronald McDonald Family Room in festive colors. Then holiday magic begins as families wander in seeking respite from ongoing health crises.

The morning of last year’s party, a beautiful, bald-headed little girl drag-ging an IV machine larger than her

body appeared before the station I manned. Her face beamed like morn-ing sunshine as she declared she was now the ripe old age of nine. Story after story fell from her lips describ-ing future dreams as we cut, glued, and glittered a Christmas stocking together. I marveled at her courage while imagining the medical tests she was enduring during her hospital stay. Her positive countenance lingered in my mind for weeks. Without the ini-tiative of people who care, that child’s day would have looked much differ-ent. And so would have mine.

In a culture that promotes greed, unconditional love is not easily expressed. Instead, society encour-ages us to focus solely on the win. On Friday evenings during my childhood in the ‘80s, I remember cozying up to the kitchen table beside Mom and Dad for board game binges. Monop-oly. Life. Parcheesi. Bargain Hunter. Chinese Checkers. One favorite was a quirky 1975 Parker Brother’s game called Pay Day that Mom found at the old AmVets Thrift Store on Two Notch Road.

In the game, players pass through a month of problems while earning cash to pay bills. The person accumu-

Successful volunteering only requires two things—

initiative and the

ability to show up.

Reach out and make an impact of your own.

January / February 2018Community

lating the most money by the end of three months won. It mimicked adult life and painted a picture of employed perfection—if we work hard enough, we will be happy. And we will win. That game was so popular it outsold Monopoly during its first year of production. It was the perfect way to teach success. Or so America thought.

Credit Suisse Research Institute’s article “Global Wealth Report” tells us, “US wealth distribution has a high fraction of adults with wealth above USD $100,000 compared to the world as a whole… The USA has the most

members of the top 1% global wealth group, and currently accounts for 41% of the world's millionaires. The number of individuals with wealth above USD $50 million is six times that of the next country, China.” If money brings happiness, shouldn't the United States be the happiest country on earth?

The most recent World Happiness Report paints a disturbing picture to the contrary. While income per person increased three times in the US since 1960, happiness has steadily declined. Mental illness is the leading cause of

disability in the US. Higher suicide rates and the erosion of relation-ship stability at home spotlight the gravity of the human condition. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reveals that each year, 44,000 Americans die by suicide. For every actual suicide, 25 more are at-tempted. Unfulfilled needs in the soul of society are affecting us all. With this poignant data laid out so clearly, a purpose more sovereign than our own emerges—one that directs us to step up, reach out, and intentionally protect the hearts of those around us. ROC

WAYS TO SERVE

Power in Changing www.powerinchanging.org

Pets, Inc. www.petsinc.org

Harvest Hope www.harvesthope.org

SisterCare www.sistercare.org

Hannah House www.christcentralministries.org/hannah-house/

St. Lawrence Place www.stlawrenceplace.org

Mother’s Milkbank of South Carolina www.scmilkbank.org

Children’s Trust of South Carolina www.scchildren.org

EdVenture www.edventure.org

South Carolina School Improvement Council sic.sc.gov

South Carolina Parent Teacher Association www.scpta.org

South Carolina School Boards Association www.scsba.org

Richland Library Friends www.richlandlibrary.com/ friends-library

The Junior League of Columbia www.jlcolumbia.org

Ronald McDonald House www.rmhcofcolumbia.org

AmVets www.amvets.org

Find even more opportunities at VolunteerMatch.org

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