By Connie S. Newsome, Ed.D., Director of Registrar Services, Campbell University School of Law, Vice President at Large, AACRAO Board of Directors
So, I am gratefully and finally home one early December evening. As I fold clothes and put away shoes that have been discarded around the room during the week, I get irritated with myself when I see yet another pair of shoes that I have forgotten to put in their proper place. When I fix my lips to complain, it suddenly hits me that I should be grateful that I have multiple pairs of anything, along with reliable shelter, utilities, internet-dependent appliances, and so on. I then remember a promise I had temporarily forgotten (let’s blame it on a state of fatigue).
In 2006, I participated in a humanitarian aid trip to Guatemala, “Shoes for Orphan Souls.” The mission was to visit six orphanages, deliver shoes, underwear, socks, and candy, and spend quality time with the children. During that trip, I promised I would be forever grateful for what I have after being exposed to a level of poverty and need that was previously unknown to me. You see, I grew up in the projects of Fayetteville, NC, and looking back, even then, I lived in more comfort and safety than the conditions I saw in Guatemala in 2006.
I want to accept and extend to you the challenge to live daily with an attitude of gratitude and to volunteer or somehow give back, consistently and often.
Gratitude And Volunteerism in Practice
While quite individual, the concepts of gratitude and volunteerism could indeed intersect hand-in-hand. When we have a grateful heart, we want to find a way to benefit others, creating a win-win for all. My primary volunteer passion is as a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL), advocating for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. It can be emotionally challenging. However, after the initial acceptance of how disrespectful some adults can be, it is then empowering to be the person who is solely focused on what is in the best interests of children.
Juvenile court judges actually want to hear from us, and they respect our thoughts. After more than 20 years volunteering in this capacity in two different states, I still get nervous when called to sit at a table at the front of the courtroom with all the representative attorneys and sometimes the parent(s) if they come to the hearing. I remember that my purpose and presence are essential, and I am right where I need to be. I do it because, while I grew up in multiple family homes filled with love and care, I had many friends who did not, which always made me sad. I often wondered how and where they would consistently feel safe and loved, for school could provide only so much of an escape.
The Importance Of You: Purpose Personified
Believe it or not, you can absolutely impact lives beyond those within your immediate family or work team. How do I know this? Because I believe in purpose and that ultimately, you are purpose personified, the answer to someone’s problem—you are purpose with legs.
It has been said that volunteers are love in motion. When you volunteer in an area that is also a passion, the energy you thought was absent becomes present. Audrey Hepburn was spot-on when she said, “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
I will close this section with a quote from the much-loved and late Dr. Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Where? When? How?
Consider your passions and strengths. What interrupts your sleep and keeps you up at night? What makes you angry or teary when you see something on the news or as you drive? You can complete your own research for opportunities to give back, inquire with someone, or visit www.volunteermatch.org.
The options are numerous:
Friends, if we take but a moment, we will realize that we do not have to think long to see the victories, the good, the blessings that exist in our lives. If we consider them comprehensively, most of us can admit that they certainly outweigh any past and current challenges.
There is always a need somewhere (physical or monetary), and those needs are throughout the year, not just the days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Booker T. Washington
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” ― Mother Theresa