Serving Our Community in More Ways Than One

I have a quote wall, a literal quote wall that fills half my wall up with some of the favorite quotes I've heard in the past.

"Change starts with ordinary people doing extraordinary things that make a difference."

Earlier today I ran across this one:

"I think journalism is a great way to do public service, to have an impact on your community." -Bob Schieffer

What do these have in common, you ask?

This past weekend, I got the spend a great amount of time with Amanda Gillooly and Tim McAteer at the Canonsburg Oktoberfest helping man the C-M Patch table. I started asking a little more about Patch and how it came to be. As you may have noticed, Patch websites focus on a local community. For example, the Canon-McMillan Patch serves Canon-McMillan School District, Canonsburg, Cecil, and North Strabane.

These quotes got me to thinking about the things I most enjoy; writing, music, and helping others/doing service. I always tell people if I could find a job writing grants for a local school music program or non-profit that would be my ideal career I guess you could say!

I originally found out about Patch through a really good friend of mine from high school. (Thanks Amiee!) To some extent, all of us writing for the Patch have different backgrounds, and we all have different experiences. However, we share one common goal, to help our local community and keep them aware of the things that are going on, and for us to help give them a voice.

As many of you know, this past year I served a term of service with KEYS ServiceCorp AmeriCorp. I dedicated a year of my life doing service. What I did during my term was helping out the local community of my site in South Oakland, Community Human Services. I ran social groups, recruitted volunteers, even taught basic computer skills to people who lacked the ability of even owning a computer and understanding of how to even turn one on.

As challenging of a year as it was, I wouldn't change it for the world. One of the biggest things I learned is that you can make a difference. If you have seen my previous articles reflecting upon the issues of public transportation, you all know that it is a very strenuous task, especially in our area.

However, because of the things I learned during my term with AmeriCorp, and especially through our Advocacy Group at my site; even writing a petition letter and having people that live in your area sign it to change a bus route makes a diffence.

We are all ordinary people, but still not the everyday average Joe. We write, we live, and we serve. A community is made up of a multitude of people trying to do something together that benefits the greater good.

When I now reflect upon what I learned this weekend about Patch and what it stands for, it brought me back to why I went into English at La Roche for my undergraduate career. It reminded me why I wanted to become a Journalist. I write to heal, I write to inform, I write to serve.

A special thank you to Amanda and Tim for their generosity, and their words of wisdom so to speak. Two truly inspiring people that I've had the honor and privilege of working with. I can't wait to continue on this journey together.