Why Community Service?
November 22, 2019 ​by Zain Sultan

La Convivencia will be hosting its 2nd annual Holiday Day of Service event on December 7, 2019. As part of its mission, La Convivencia aims to bring diverse members of the local community together to help families in need. But where does this idea of community service come from, and why should we partake in it? In many religions, partaking in community service is a key ideal in keeping faith. Statements can be found in Jain, Baha’i, Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and many other scriptures. For example, the Bible states “Each one of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10), and the Qur’an states “And Indeed, God is with those who are of service to others” (29:70). Partaking in community service allows one to put these teaching of these religious scriptures into action.
However, we recognize that not everyone believes in a faith, but service has been found to have many psychological and social benefits. In terms of psychological benefits, service tends to improve one’s image of themselves and satisfaction with their lives. Not only this, but we get the chance to put ourselves in the shoes of those who we are serving, attain a better understanding of their situation, and become even more grateful for what we have. In addition, in terms of social benefits, it gives a chance for volunteers to interact with each other, an ideal that La Convivencia promotes to help the community understand each other and improves bonds between people of different perspectives, even make a new friend during your time. The most important part of community service is the impact that you will make on the individuals whose lives you will be affecting. Without giving up our time to help them and investing money into care products for them, they may be in even more dire situations. That is why La Convivencia not only provides everyday necessities like personal care items, but also cards of encouragement, because these families and individuals need to know that behind the care items, there are also people who are rooting for them.
In recent times, our country has become extremely polarized, and we have forgotten those in our own community. As a result, La Convivencia, a faith and community-based non-profit, holds multiple days of service so that no matter the time of year, everyone can always support the community. Last year, around 170 families and children came together to our annual Holiday Day of Service event to make an impact on their community with the intent and desire to make a difference in the lives of the community members, and we hope that this year that many more will join us to make a change on the community with compassion and with their kindness. We at La Convivencia hope that through our combined efforts, we can create a more peaceful, just, and inclusive world.

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