The Power of Giving

As service week comes to a close, we learn that to really be able to give, volunteer or best help someone or a situation, we have to learn and live it first. Spending time with those you are helping in their home and culture allows you the ability to give your time, talent and treasures appropriately.

Today, twenty-eight students woke up early and excited to make a difference: to give time and ability. After an hour bus ride to Athens and getting supplies, we arrived at the Praksis housing and met two families, needing and deserving of help. While repainting their walls only skimmed the surface of their needs, the fresh coat of paint gave hope and inspiration.

This week after our Power of Giving session I realized that we all have won the lottery of life and with that great fortune, we also receive great responsibility. Sometimes this responsibility means smiling at a stranger, volunteering at a hospice, mentoring, peer tutoring, or playing with refugees’ children and bringing joy to their lives; but somehow, it is up to us to change the world for the better because we have the capability. Often times these things come easily and one can simply see the impact they’ve made, and other times efforts are complied with challenges.

The kitchen that my group painted today proved to be a little taxing. Almost finished with our project, the paint peeled off the walls and feeling mildly defeated, we had to start over. A minor set back in the scheme of life but it taught the valuable lesson of doing the best you can; sometimes support and effort make all the difference. Who really knows if we changed lives today or not by painting apartments, but the most important thing is that we learned how to care, how to serve, and how to give.

As Service Week comes to a close, the same twenty-eight students emotionally reflect on what we have learned. With great anticipation of the influence we will continue to have on the world, we enter the Off Week. Parting ways with our separate adventures, we will keep you posted on the things to come.

Hannah Jayne