La Vida Local
Irregular Notes on West End Life
By Rosanne Graef
The Importance of Service
Everyone’s heard of service and ordinarily thinks of it as doing something for someone or helping someone in some way. A lot of service is paid work; think civil service, national service, and the service industries.
Groups and individuals engage in voluntary service in numerous ways, and although unpaid community service may be required of students or members of clubs or social groups, it’s also used as rehabilitation or punishment. There are agencies and websites that can hook you up with volunteer opportunities that align with your skills and interests. All of these are important to a healthy society and volunteering can be very socially and emotionally rewarding as well.
Some may baulk at volunteering or performing community service as too time-consuming or onerous, but what if we take a different perspective?
What if we also viewed service as all those little interactions, friendly gestures, and moments of recognition we have a chance to give and receive every day? What if service is showing up at a neighborhood event or accepting an invitation? Complimenting someone? Smiling? Nodding? If you make someone’s day a tiny bit more pleasant, you’ve performed a service.
Especially in times like these, it’s easy to let negativity and crabbiness rule the day. Don’t fall for it.
Just this morning, a small crowd went to Bramhall Square for the unveiling of a plaque commemorating General Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Portland. It was cold and grey, but other Portlanders had put a lot of time and work into planning and presenting the ceremony. I’m sure they were happy that people came and appreciated their efforts.
So, what service can you perform? Come to WestFest at Reiche Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 30th! Just having you show up will make the organizers happy. When they see you having a good time and joining in the fun, they’ll be ecstatic.
No negativity or crabbiness allowed. See you there.
Rosanne Graef lives in the West End and was a regular volunteer contributor to WEN. Find her La Vida Local archives on our website at https://thewestendnews.com/category/la-vida-local/.
