Consider Lily

So, it’s coming up to finals for me, and I’m buried about face-deep in a paper about human rights law. While I’ve been writing down my ideas about how we could make our world better, there’s been something nagging at me: too often I’m great at telling the world what it should be doing, but I’m not great at turning my ideas into action.

I think we’re all likely to agree that charity and helping others are good things. My issue is this: how would you say a college student can really make a difference in the world around her? For the most part, our resources and time are fairly limited. Can you think of ways to make our world better when you’re not able to cut a big check or spend a year in the Peace Corps? And how do we know what really makes a difference rather than just makes us feel like “good people?”

Through college, I was often subject to guilt because I couldn’t seem to find the time or resources to be involved in service organizations. I was even a member of a service group (it looks good on a resume), and I loathed trying to find time to be involved in their group activities. And then a realization hit me my senior year: Why am I just trying to tag along with others instead of paving the way to do something I am passionate about?

Let’s face it: We’re all designed differently. Some people really get a kick out of breaking a sweat and swinging a hammer for Habitat for Humanity. I had some really athletic friends that would run in every charity run offered in our city. Others, like me, prefer to serve through less physical means. I found that I really enjoyed volunteering my time with the Humane Society, playing with and caring for stray animals. I also enjoyed mentoring kids through Big Brothers and Big Sisters. And I think that regardless of your passions, everything you do can be done for the glory of God. So, before we jump in and commit ourselves to serving with any and every organization out there, I think we need to really think about what gets us excited. Otherwise, whatever we do to serve will seem like a waste of time to us, and it’ll be pretty hard to avoid the guilty feelings later.

I think I have more to say on the subject, but I’d really like to hear thoughts from the rest of you…

I agree with Lindsay. Being passionate about where you can serve will make the difference and determine your longevity in serving/helping to make a difference. Recently, I feel like a topic has been surfacing amongst college students that we are probably all easily passionate about: human slave-trafficking. A friend of mine co-founded a ministry that targets this by training college students to recognize where underground operations may be lurking. You can read more about what we can do and what signs to look for at their website: www.notforsalecampaign.org. One of the things that I like about this organization is that it is not necessarily so time consuming as it is about being wise/aware of what is around you. For example, one of the ways that students are trained to recognize human slave-trafficking rings is by being observant of workers at certain businesses around college campuses that they may frequent, etc. Since a lot of the victims of these crimes fall within the collegiate age-range and are brought into the country to work at restaurants, dry-cleaners, etc., the crime rings tend to have their “hubs” in college towns. This is just my first thought upon reading your question, Sally. Thanks for raising this topic.

Good question, Sally. “How can a college student really make a difference in the world around her?” I really like Lindsay and Nikki’s suggestions for places to jump in. I think the point I would like to make, though, is that usually the first step in serving and caring for people further away from us (either because they are literally across the world, or because we have to go through a service organization to reach them), is to serve and care for the people that are already in our lives. I have often found that it is easy for me to serve or give to ministries out of pride or self-righteousness (look at the difference I’M making!), without giving a second thought to how I treat my mom, my roommates, the woman that rings me up at Bread Co., or my boss. (I would even argue that this is the REAL “world around us.”) Giving time/money/energy to different ministries and service projects I think is absolutely central to God’s plan of bringing ultimate restoration to our world, through Jesus. Praise God that we can be a part of that! But first I think we really need to examine our hearts, examine our motives, soak in the message of the Gospel and pray that God would show us what it means to truly love and serve. We will never do this perfectly well (and God doesn’t require that we do it perfectly before we start serving!), but I think it is an important stop on the way to serving and giving. And sometimes the best gauge of how well we are doing at living in the message of the Gospel is to look at how we treat those around us.

One of my favorite ministries is World Vision (www.worldvision.com), a Christian relief organization committed to serving children in poverty and disease-ridden countries. I sponsor a 5 year old Ugandan girl named Anita by giving a small amount of money each month. What I really like about World Vision is that (1) they are responsible and transparent with how they spend my money, (2) they focus on the physical and spiritual needs of the children being supported, and (3) I can participate not only by giving money, but also by writing Anita a note or birthday card (she has my birthday!) and praying for her (her picture is on my refrigerator!). I know college students aren’t exactly rolling in dough, and even the $35/month might seem expensive. If this is true for you, you might want to try joining forces with other girls in your small group, your roommates or even your family and sponsor a child together.

Erica raises a great point which I confess that I wasn’t thinking about when I first read the question raised here — focus on what is around you (those you are coming in contact with, etc.). That made me think (and some of you may be surprised to hear me say this) that another way that we can “change the world” is just being careful in how we “treat” our world. We have discussed this before (on the CL blog) and the idea of “going green,” etc., so I won’t reiterate those discussions here. But I do think that we can all make a difference in taking care of our world in just the little things we do each day — recycling, refusing to waste, etc. By doing these seemingly small things I believe that we do help to “change” our current world.

Great thoughts, ladies! We seem to be developing a theme of “work with what you’ve been given.” I like, too, that we’re covering ways to figure out where you want to serve. What are some practical ways of doing that? How do we go green/treat the BreadCo cashier/affect the world around us?

Not to over-simplify, but I don’t think the practical part is rocket science. Act. Don’t just talk about it, tout it, or constantly reminesce about that time back in high school when you actually did it. Do it. Serve. Get some skin in the game.

Sure, look for something you’re passionate about, but also remember it’s not about you. Jesus is pretty clear throughout His teachings that we should be taking care of the poor, the needy, the less-fortunate. Sometimes making the world better might actually require you to sacrifice a little. A little time. A little convience. A little preference. Serving definitely doesn’t have to be dreadful, but it isn’t always warm and fuzzy.

On a more philosophical note, something that often bothers me about “Christians” (myself included) is that it’s they’re often known far better at supporting what they’re “against” than what they’re “for”. So when it comes to making the world a better place, put down your picket sign and get your hands dirty.

Signing off my soap box,

Kel, I quite enjoyed your soap box.

Ok, so here’s a practical suggestion…timed perfectly for the end of the semester. A few years back I helped organize an event for my church. I think it translates BEAUTIFULLY into a college environment. Our event (we called it a Spring Swap) was for women only, but it really wouldn’t have to be. For a month proceeding the Swap we had anyone who was interested drop off their unwanted clothes, shoes, accessories, books, cds, dvds, and housewares. I think maybe there were 6 people on the actual planning team and then maybe we had a dozen or so volunteers for the night before the Swap. The night before we set up our “store”…clothes separated by sizes, shoes and accessories in their own area, books/cds/dvds in a “bookstore” section. The day of the Swap (which we had been advertising in our church bulletin for a month…students would probably do well do place an ad in the school paper or hang signs around campus) we charged a $5 admittance fee. Everyone was welcome to take whatever they found that they wanted. We had been saving shopping bags for weeks and handed them out when people came in, but it would have been just as easy to ask people to bring their own bags (uh…or pillow cases for that matter). Some people were leaving with BAGS full of “new” items, some only found one CD or whatever. At the end of the day we donated all of the proceeds (over $500 if memory serves) to the charity that we had selected. In addition, and probably the COOLEST part of the whole Swap for me, we took EVERYTHING that was left to a local women’s shelter. You should have seen looks on the ladies faces when they saw us rolling up with clothes and books and hats and flower arrangements. All, unwanted to us, but TREASURES to them. The benefits to the Spring Swap were multi-faceted. The people cleaning out their closets and homes (or dorm rooms) had a good reason to evaluate all their “stuff” and get rid of unnecessary items. The people attending the Swap got to search through literally thousands of items and take whatever they wanted for the low-low price of $5 flat. The charity that the Swap Team selected received a nice sized donation. The women’s shelter received bags and bags and BAGS of items, new to them.

So, this wasn’t an inspirational entry…(as previously discussed, Kelly already took care of the “call to action”)… I do think, though, that sometimes we think giving (whether of our time or our talents) has to be BIG to have value…its simply not true.

Yes, Nicole, that clothing swap was fun and effective in ministering. Great idea! Our local radio station here does a pay-for-the-car-behind-you day once a month. So you drive through and pay for yourself and the car behind you, leaving a note with the cashier to give to that car, saying something like “Your order is paid for. Have a great day!” Some people can’t fathom a stranger doing that, so it really rocks their world.

Little “green” ideas to add to the list are: filling up your own travel mug with coffee instead of getting the disposable ones, biking instead of driving, using your own shopping bags, picking up litter when you see it. Start with ONE thing until it’s a habit. I also don’t want to forget about the little things we can do for our “neighbors” — whoever that is to you… coworkers, roommates, managers, bosses, etc. Things like writing a little note to say thank you, or a note of encouragement, or showing up to their event, or cheering them on. Or pick someone younger than you and do something to speak truth and vision into their life — I think these things make a huge difference in one tiny person on this earth. That’s a big deal to me!! And I think it’s worth reminding ourselves not to do acts of kindness to stroke our own ego or to check off a list. But out of gracious living and understanding the Gospel — that we are more loved than we can imagine… so pass it on!

Wow, you guys are giving me some great ideas of what I can do! Love it! I was thinking about some additional small and everyday ways we can encourage and help each other. My husband and I try to be intentional about inviting people into our home for a meal once a week–especially single students who don’t often get a home cooked meal. I know that many of our readers are single college gals themselves, but how cool would it be for a group of girls to sacrifice time during a busy point in their semester to make a meal for everyone in their dorm hall, or maybe even just cookies or brownies. These small acts can build community and encourage us to remember that we’re not alone. I think that in many ways this hard economic time we’re facing today is an incredible opportunity for us to serve one another and make a tremendous difference in the world around us. The possibilities are endless and as close as the person who lives next door.

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