We live in a world that is filled with turmoil. There is war, poverty, and disease. The news leads us to believe that this what consumes the world and there is no hope. Many people believe that there are several solutions to world issues. I believe that one of the best ways to conquer world issues is to begin at home.

Volunteering has been a part of my life for sometime. The concept of using the gifts that God gave me is appealing. These are some of the ways that I have been using these talents for the last several years in my local community.

Hunger is an issue in many inner city communities. This is often a hidden issue that not many people realize is occurring. We are used to seeing the severe effects of hunger on the television. But here in America there are many people who are not able to feed their families for the entire month. These people have jobs but the money will run out before the month ends.

One solution to this issue is the food banks, community centers, and churches in my local area. Many people frequent these places in hopes of help in getting enough food to fill the end of the month until the next paycheck.

It is easy to help these centers by buying additional food every week and making a donation each month. A large number of people are reached through these services and it is a great feeling to know that I helped someone in their time of crisis.

Another issue in my local community is homelessness. There are a fair number of people without a home in the inner city. The city that I live in provides a fair amount of services to aid in this issue.

Volunteering in local shelters and in missions designed to help the homeless is a great way to help conquer this issue. Many homeless people are grateful for someone willing to bring them food and clothing. It is a comfort to many of them just to have someone listen to the issues that caused them to become homeless.

A simple way that people can help the homeless is to fill a small plastic bag with soap, some change, toiletries, and crackers or small cans of meat. This small gesture will help many of the homeless survive until they are ready to seek help for the issues that sent them to the street.

Medical insurance is an issue that is greatly debated in this country for the last several years. It is not an easy issue to solve. A part of the solution to the issue in my local community is to develop small free or low-cost clinics to the uninsured and high deductible health insurance population. This population is quite large.

I volunteer at a church based low-cost clinic once a month. This clinic is busy and is filled with people having minor medical issues. These clinics are not designed to deal with major illnesses or disease processes.

It is a blessing to be able to aid people in the clinic and provide basic health information. There is a lack of education on many of the common disease processes in this country. The people entering the clinic are given a basic health screening and seen by a doctor. These clinics are staffed by volunteers and there is no compensation.

For many of the people who enter this clinic it is the only medical care that they will receive. Education is important and the people we served repeatedly tell us how grateful they are for this service.

Another area that I volunteer in is summer camp for inner city children. These camps aid the children in areas that are often not available in other  areas of their lives. One summer I taught piano to a small group of students.

One day each week for two months they were given lessons in how to play the piano and music. Several of these children were quite gifted and acquired enough knowledge in music to apply to the arts programs at their schools.

Volunteering has been a great blessing to me. I am unable to change all of the world’s issues. My soul is nourished by the things that I have learned from the people who I have met. They have given me far more than the talents that I have shared with them.

Community service in the form of volunteering is easy and only takes a small amount of time. Can you find the time to give of your talents to solve some issues in a your part of the world?

copyright 2017 Debbie Pierce

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