Do the Love Thing: 7 Examples of Service to Communities
This past year, we faced challenges like no other. A global pandemic. Political and social unrest. Volatility in the financial markets. Concerns about job losses.
But a remarkable thing happened. Communities came together and giving happened.
Clearly, even though employees are working from home and juggling work, home, and childcare and schooling demands, they want connection. They want community.
Put your greatness to work in your community
But what’s a community? More specifically, what’s your community?
One definition describes community as “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” By that definition, your community could be your family, friends, work, church, clubs…however you define community.
At Logicalis, we are a services company. We work with technology partners to serve our customers. Doing the right thing for our customers, partners, colleagues—yes, our communities—is at the heart of our culture.
But service also includes giving back to our broader communities. As Coretta Scott King said: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
Moreover, those actions don’t need to be big. To serve, “you only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love,” said the great Martin Luther King Jr. [1] Pick something you’re passionate about and start spreading love!
[1] “The Drum Major Instinct,” Sermon Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA, 02/04/1968.
7 examples of community service and inspiration
How can you spread the love in your community? We asked a couple of Logicalis employees to share what they do and why they do it. Maybe they will inspire you as much as they’ve inspired me!
Mike Crone – As members of the 501st Legion, a costume club, Mike and his wife have raised over $5,000 locally for Aiden’s Legacy, The Cure Starts Now, and Norton Children’s Hospital. They also work with Make-A-Wish and regularly visit Kentucky Children’s Hospital and Norton Children’s Hospital in costume to cheer up the kids. Nationally, the 501st Legion has raised almost $300,000 for its Make-A-Wish Endowment Fund since 2016. www.501st.com
Bill L’Esperance – Bill and his family started a 501(c)(3) inspired by his son, Connor. The mission of Connor’s Hope is to assist young adults with disabilities access to goods and services that can provide greater independence or enrich their lives and bring fulfillment and joy. Bill says that he is “continually inspired by my son, Connor, who is an incredible young man with special needs that make him truly special indeed.” www.ConnorsHope.com
Terri Rice – When a local group stopped coordinating holiday food drives, Terri and her siblings stepped up. For the last 5 years, they’ve recruited volunteers and coordinated the fundraising, donations, applications, shopping, box building, filling, and distribution of up to 250 food boxes at Thanksgiving and, if they’re able, Christmas. It’s now become a family affair as Terri’s two sons and her niece have joined in to help. Terri says that she “feels extremely blessed and enjoys spreading the love through our food ministry.”
Jeanne Baker – Jeanne works with A Stepping Stone Foundation, a literacy and education program for children and their families, to provide Christmas gifts for children. This past year, she served as event chair to ensure that kids continue to receive Christmas gifts despite the logistical challenges brought by COVID. Working online and through a local church, Jeanne and her team of volunteers were able to shop for, wrap, and deliver gifts to 20 families with 44 kids in all. Jeanne said that working to bring joy to these families “had such a big impact that I’ll be chairing the event again next year!” www.ASteppingStone.org
Lisa Nowak – While on a community Facebook group, Lisa and her friends decided to do something extra special for the community. As suggestions were discussed, a woman mentioned that her nursing home residents could use hats and gloves. Lisa knew of a wholesale site to buy in bulk and volunteered her family to make those 65 residents’ days a little warmer. As Lisa said: “It only took one person asking a question on a public forum for hundreds of elves to come out of the woodwork and have a transformative effect on our community!”
Burt Daigrepont – Before COVID, Burt and his wife Diana spent their weekends working with Long Beach Meals on Wheels to deliver food to disadvantaged and homebound people. Working as a team, they removed the milk from food heat containers and kept it cold in an ice chest while ensuring that the meals stayed warm. They then drove to 12 to 15 locations and, on arrival, bagged up the delivery so that each person received a warm meal and cold milk. As Burt says, “Diana was the happy delivery person, while I prepared the next delivery. We look forward to the time when we can return to giving back to our community!” www.MealsonWheelsAmerica.org
John Bowers – Major Bowers served as commander of the Van Dyke Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), an all-volunteer agency that assists the U.S. Air Force with search and rescue operations, emergencies, disaster relief, and education. As a Civil Air Patrol Senior Member, John works with youths aged 12-21 to provide leadership skills and STEM education, as well as opportunities for academic and aviation scholarships, summer camps, community service projects, and more. He also supports the squadron’s ground team, provides search and rescue training, and has served on several real-world missions assigned by the U.S. Air Force. Recently, John completed FEMA Points of Distribution (POD) training so that, “if called, we can help with the important work of food, supply, and vaccine distribution.” www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com
Thanks to all of our employees who give in so many ways. Let’s all take this Valentine’s Day to share the love and inspire community. After all, it takes community to make community.
Have a story to share? We’d love to hear from you! Send it to info@us.logicalis.com and we may feature it here.
Jon Groves is CEO of Logicalis U.S.