My community mission

Last year I moved 1800 miles away from the home and community I was part of for 25 years. I lived next to a beach and enjoyed picking up trash when I could visit. It sounds crazy but I loved it. I got to relax, listen to music, exercise, and make our beaches safer for families to enjoy. However, I moved to a no beach town. I didn't know anyone, had no knowledge of the type of businesses were in the area, no idea what type of community I moved to, or even what I could be a part of. Luckily, I had the chance to volunteer with Toys for Tots and it opened my eyes. Seeing strangers come together to help bring hope to their community and donate their time to sort the donations, keep track of how many toys had been donated so we knew how many families we could help, even cleaning. Finally, I was beginning to see what being a part of this community was going to be like. For 2022, I have made three goals to help my community. Donate books, clothes, and my time for the Toys for Tots 2022 campaign.

Over the summer I was visiting a park near my home with kids and when we found a large mailbox looking stand with books in it. It's for the community to take or add to with no cost. Being a parent and a lover of literature, I know just how powerful a story can be for someone. Once a month I'm going to visit the book box and add to it. Even though a library card is free, this is right next to a park where unfortunately you will find more kids at than a library nowadays. I'm hoping newer books and different reading levels will catch their eye and they will grab one. Reading can encourage our kids to push themselves in a positive direction. It can also open their eyes to different possibilities out there for them. It doesn't matter if you read about princesses kissing animals that turn into a prince, or even about the different wars we've had in our history, books can be for anyone to enjoy.

The next thing I'm going to do in 2022 is donate our old clothes. Too many times I've gone through the kids' clothes and just toss them because we lost use for them. They were either too small or too big. Maybe it was what time of year it was or just to organize and lessen clutter. Forgetting that I was a kid once that didn't always have a winter coat on when I was standing at the bus stop. Realizing that when you have to choose between something used and nothing at all, something use doesn't sound so bad. So, moving forward I will continue this process hoping someone will get use out of something used.

Finally, I'm going to join the Toys for Tots campaign again this year. This time though, I have a better understanding of what can be accomplished when you ask your community to join in. Approaching different businesses earlier in the year for help with supplies like trash bags, labels, even snacks for our volunteers. Setting up more events to bring customers into our local businesses to help them grow and collect more donations for our communities families in need. Reach out to more people to volunteer their time to help us execute a better year than the last. Also, keep better records of everyone involved. Remembering each person you spoke with, what company there with their location. It can be difficult. Keeping notes of what worked will help kickstart the New Year's campaign. Keeping notes like donation drop off site only or they enjoyed helping and would like to continue in the future, even not interested. This way we won't waste our time or anybody else is moving forward. Plus, the next coordinator will have a better start when they take over.

Moving to an unknown place can be scary. Not knowing your place in your community or what you can do to make it better can make you want to give up. But reaching out to one person can easily turn into 100 very quickly. Meeting new friends, helping others, being a part of growing our children's minds and self-esteem. Even building lasting relationships. We can be a part of showing kindness and encouraging others to join in with us. Here's to 2022.