The Importance of Community Service

The itch of a giant white bow being clipped into my hair. The scratches of a starched Victorian dress on my skin. These are my first memories of community service as a junior docent at the Kerr Memorial Museum. Twelve years ago, when I began volunteering at the Kerr Museum, my understanding of service was completely different from what it is now. My first act of service was at the Oakmont Street Fair. As I trudged down the hill to the stand in the blazing July sun, all I could think about was “what’s the point?” I didn’t understand how getting to know community members and talking to them about the museum had any sort of importance. I was told that “I was putting a smile on people’s faces,” but in my mind, making other people smile didn’t feel like service and it didn’t feel like I was doing anything of value.

The other junior docents and I stood along the boulevard, recited information we had learned about the museum, and encouraged people to visit. After the day was done, I still didn’t really see the point. It wasn’t until a few weeks later, I received a letter in the mail. The name on the envelope was one that I didn’t recognize, so I opened the envelope and began reading the card inside. To my surprise, the card was from a woman who had stopped by the stand at the street fair. The woman’s note was about how nice it was to see kids keeping Oakmont history alive and how seeing the junior docents had brightened her day.

Receiving this letter was the first time I was able to see how my service affected other people. I didn’t change the world by working at the street fair, but I did at least make one woman’s day a little bit better. Volunteering at the Kerr Museum and being able to pass on information and educate museum goers on Oakmont history is an aspect of service that for a long time, I didn’t know was important. I had always believed service looked a certain way. I didn’t understand that there could be different types of service. Community service can be shown in huge acts of change, or they can be little things that just make someone else smile.

Taking what I had learned through volunteering at the museum, my brother Jake and I decided to take on another facet of service. Two years ago, as the winter months grew closer and holiday festivities began, Jake and I decided it was important to look at everything we had, and help those who weren’t as fortunate. Together, we started a winter coat drive. We spread the word about our coat collection and got an overwhelming amount of support and donations. The offerings came from all around Pittsburgh. We collected coats ranging from people in the school district, to the south hills, to Butler county. It was really nice to see how many people were willing to contribute. Doing this coat drive encouraged me to evaluate what I was doing for others. It’s easy to get caught up in the difficulties of your own life, but it’s necessary to look at the bigger picture.

Looking back at my earliest experiences I’m embarrassed to see that my complaints about my itchy uniform blurred my understanding of the true meaning of service. Service is about helping others. But it most cases, I’ve found that completing service teaches you more about yourself than you would’ve expected. The Kerr Memorial Museum has allowed me to serve others through unconventional education. I’ve been able to “keep history alive” and connect with a group of people that I never expected to know personally. As I said earlier, I’m not changing the world by giving tours at the Kerr Museum or by donating coats in the winter. But knowing that I am changing the course of someone’s day to a more positive direction, makes completing service feel less like a task on a checklist, and more like a privilege.

Volunteering and serving others create a strong sense of community. Finding this community is something we should all strive to do. Service helps in more ways than you can imagine. And through service you have the ability to meet new people, hear about experiences you’ve never faced, and find a sense of purpose. While it is easy to look at community service as just a graduation requirement, it’s important to remember the positive affects a little bit of service can have on one person or an entire community.

Living in times of uncertainty from the COVID-19 Pandemic has shown just how important service is. Without people being willing to help others it would be difficult, if not impossible, to see an end to the virus that has changed all of our lives.