Days of Compassion and Service in Three U.S. States joins hundreds of different service projects found on JustServe, an online platform where organizations can list their needs and people can find opportunities around them. It was carried out by human volunteers and brought blessings to those in need.
Below are examples from earlier this year in Texas, Utah, and Oregon where involved organizations and volunteers continue to celebrate lives as they continue to strengthen their connections with JustServe and find ways to serve.
Day of Care in Victoria, Texas
The year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the city of Victoria, Texas. As part of the city’s celebrations, Victoria Bicentenary Day was held on April 13th.
The City of Victoria uses JustServe as a communication tool for a variety of service opportunities including painting, packing food boxes, sorting clothes, trash removal, landscaping, moving furniture, community outreach, pressure washing, and more. I have registered as a volunteer.
Since that day, organizations that registered for the event continue to express interest in JustServe.
Raquel Heirel, JustServe Specialist for the Bay City Texas Stake, said the Day of Care was “an extraordinary collaboration between our city, local nonprofits, and the JustServe platform.” said.
Hyrel and the stake communications director established a volunteer center at JustServe.org that covers all nonprofit volunteer opportunities and created a QR code for the city to promote. This now directs all volunteer traffic through one location that’s easy to find and register.
In the end, 26 volunteer projects were implemented through 16 organizations, and 539 volunteers registered for these projects through the JustServe website, with many more also joining. Volunteers included members of the Bay City Stake, missionaries, and residents of Victoria and neighboring cities.
“We were overjoyed by the great response from the community and received rave reviews for the JustServe platform,” said Hyler.
Josette Padilla Eager, a Just Serve specialist with the Coordinating Council of Churches in South Central Texas, said the service project was followed by a grand celebration in the city center attended by descendants of the city’s founders. spoke.
“There was also a Just Serve tent in the city center where church communication leaders interacted with several people in the community, including a descendant of one of the city’s founders. , some of whom enjoyed learning about the FamilySearch website,” Padilla-Eager said.
Padilla-Eager noted that a lot of work went into the volunteer center to make Kindness Day a success. “Not only has this created an exciting opportunity to help those in need, but some organizations are using JustServe for the first time and are considering continuing to partner with JustServe for future projects.”
Hyler said the relationships built with JustServe experts, stake leaders, city officials and organizations are “deep and continuing.”
Relief Society “Walk with Me” effort in St. George, Utah
More than 100 women from the St. George Utah Bloomington Hills Stake came together on Saturday, April 20, for a day of service themed “Walk with Me.” Together, they provided hundreds of hours of service to benefit nonprofit organizations that serve both local community and international needs.
“As our stake Relief Society presidents, our goal is to help our sisters understand that service can be big or small, but all of us help the work of Christ,” said JustServe Specialist Tami Salmon. We also wanted them to know more about JustServe.”
Projects included:
Cut newspaper for the “Memory Matters” papier-mâché project. In collaboration with Swaddle Love, we will decorate 50 baby onesies and sew 100 newborn blankets in Honduras. Painting Inspirational Stones for Women at Dove Center. For kids, bag and prepare 69 sensory bottles for Root. Cut out photos from a pile of magazines and organize them into categories for use in your Roots for Kids art project. Hand-sewn pocket hearts for the Children’s Justice Center. Create 130 handmade cards and write inspiring messages to seniors at your care center. Cut out 75 children’s memory cards for United Way and Help Me Grow Utah.
Since the activity was posted on JustServe.org, young families looking for a place to serve that morning showed up and spent more than an hour and a half at various stations. Another woman who lives outside the stake boundaries saw the post and brought a large bag of supplies to help with the effort.
Salmon said the women enjoy being able to visit each other while working on service projects. Some people stay for only 30 minutes, while others stay forever. “This activity was so casual but so productive that I heard a lot of feedback that it should become an annual event,” she says.
The activity featured posters and signage detailing each organization supported and how families can continue to support these organizations on their own. Using JustServe Station, women were able to see how the JustServe app works and browse projects on the site. You can also write your service ideas on a board so others looking for ideas can see them.
“One of the sisters said she had made hundreds of hats for children and wanted to donate them, so she found an organization that would be happy to accept them,” Salmon said.
Women’s Day of Service in Oregon City, Oregon
On a rainy Saturday, May 4th, the Oregon City Stake hosted a “Women of Neighborhood Service Day” in partnership with Just Serve.
Hundreds of hours were spent planning and volunteering for the event. That day, 180 women and 15 young women gathered at local schools to complete a variety of service projects, including sewing, crafting, coloring, and assembling kits.
They made and donated the following:
72 skirts to immigrant and refugee community organizations. 240 Christmas cards sent to senior centers and meals to local hospitals. 350 baby bonding hearts sent to local hospitals. 36 sets of alphabet cards to Catholic Charities. 178 first aid kits and 300 sandwiches to local senior centers, shelters, and local homeless shelters to local school districts and Love, a nonprofit organization serving Clackamas County’s neighbors in need. We provided 85 paracord bracelets and 211 feminine hygiene kits to Wang.
Large JustServe banners and other information helped volunteers know how to continue finding service opportunities locally or remotely.
