In honor of Mother’s Day, HandsOn Blog features a guest post from Jenny Viars, a Program Coordinator at Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind based in North Carolina.  You can read her personal blog at Great Little Stories.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I have been thinking about ways that my mom taught me the importance of volunteering and other forms of service in the community. The best and most lasting instruction is that which is by example, and learning to serve one’s community is no different.

My mother was a stay-at-home mom, and as an only child, I went with her everywhere.  My mom was very active in our small town, and I tagged along as she delivered Meals-on-Wheels, exercised her Library Science degree by helping at the local library, sang in community choruses, and helped out in many ways at church.  I’m sure that often, I was more in the way than anything, but I still have very vivid memories of the places we went.  My mom also volunteered at myriad school functions and tirelessly helped me with all those school fundraisers (how much wrapping paper does one family need, after all?).

Not only has my mom always been generous with her donation of time and energy, but physical donations to help those in need were always at the forefront, as well.  Outgrown clothes went to a local organization that collected items for children in need; other unused items went to the local charity-affiliated thrift store.  I was raised with the knowledge that others in our community and beyond did not have everything they need, and that it is important to share whenever possible.

Interestingly, I also learned another important life lesson: the power and importance of saying no.  It is so easy to say yes to everything and often so difficult to say no to an organization in need.  But my mom taught me that sometimes you have to choose; that it’s better to give your best to the ones you choose than spread yourself too thin. I try to remember this in my daily life; my varied interests and professional organizations can easily overwhelm my calendar, so I try to be conscious of the things I schedule.

In writing this, I started trying to remember when I started volunteering.  I was always involved in church activities as a child, and I started babysitting and working with children by about the age of 11.  Both of these interests have carried over to adulthood – I am active in my current church with choir, handbells, and children’s ministry, and a large part of my non-profit job is working with children with visual impairments.  In addition, I love keeping up with what is going on in my community, especially local nonprofits and their projects, and I actively support several.  I frequently donate to my own community charity-affiliated thrift store (and make purchases there!), and I belong to a local Kiwanis Club, a national service-based organization that focuses on children. I don’t have children of my own yet, but I am sure that I will be active in their schools and other interests, also.  Sound familiar? I now see how much of my involvement today mimics what I watched my mom do.

Perhaps most importantly, I learned from my mom that the value of volunteerism is indefinable, that giving one’s time and resources can make a palpable impact on the lives of others.  I’ve even taken that lesson into my career path at a nonprofit, where part of my job is actually volunteer coordinator.  I know that many of the programs we have at my agency would not be possible without our volunteers, and this appreciation inspires me  to volunteer all over again. Without the inspiration and leadership of my mom, my path and my interests might have been much different…and not nearly as much fun.