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Your
willingness to contribute to your community will have lasting and
profound effects. There are numerous ways to get involved and a wide
range of possible projects. Locally, you can contact CIEDC, Habitat
for Humanity, the YMCA, Oasis, Lincoln Park District, ALMH or nursing
homes. There are any number of places you might seek to serve youth,
elderly or the less fortunate.
If you
check with the mayor’s office, Main Street Lincoln, local city
halls, the Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce, Abraham Lincoln
Tourism Bureau, other city or county agencies or offices, they are
often in need of seasonal or special event volunteers.
Most of
the museums as well as other points of interest in the county offer
a warm welcome, fellowship and gratitude for assistance. We have a
number of important museums. Three that regularly seek volunteers to
welcome tourists are the historic courthouses, one in Lincoln and
one in Mount Pulaski, and Heritage in Flight, which houses historical
military and aviation displays, located at the airport. In some
places the greatest need is just someone to open the doors and greet
visitors.
Your
skills can be put to use somewhere, whether they are communication,
coordinating, comforting, clerical, mechanical or carpentry talents.
Someone can use you. People who volunteer will tell you that the
effort is light and the payoff is indeed worthwhile.
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Gov. Blagojevich said: “We know all too well the problems that plague
our society. We know the perils that children face today. Drugs, gangs,
broken homes, illiteracy and other ills threaten the futures of our youth.
On this day, each of us can take a look around and find something we can
do to make life better for someone else.
The state hosts a site to help you match your skills and time to a need.
“Volunteerism and Community Service in Illinois” is located at
http://www.illinois.gov/volunteer/.
You will also find a listing and links to state agencies on the state of
Illinois site at http://www.illinois.gov/. Many of these agencies know of
a need for volunteers.
This is the 13th year of the day dedicated to neighbors helping
neighbors that was begun as a sponsorship between USA Weekend magazine and
Points of Light Foundation.
Robert E. Dwyer, Jr., chair for the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and
Community Service, said, “We can rebuild, reinvent and revitalize homes,
communities, schools, places of worship, businesses, organizations and
attitudes and help make things change for the better.”
So, take time today and evaluate your place in our community. Look for
something you can do and “make a difference.”
You can visit the Make A Difference Day website for many more ideas: www.makeadifferenceday.com.
[Jan
Youngquist]
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