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June 21, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 4, 2004 Standing together in service of each other In the socially contentious times that arrive each election year, I find it a challenge to maintain a positive worldview about our local, national, and global community. When I see next-door neighbors angry with each other, our government spewing out more rhetoric than action, and wars destroying what we fight to preserve, it doesn't seem possible that anything I do or don't do matters very much. But there is a powerful antidote to this illness of apathy, antagonism, and general malaise. I am heartened by its profound effects on myself and hundreds of other people whom I have seen it transform from hopeless to hopeful. We volunteer. In this simple act we are able to achieve something that makes a measurable difference in our local community. Though the rest of the world's problems still rage around us, when we volunteer we experience an empowering realization of good intentions applied in a practical manner. Some of us teach kids to read; some of us deliver lunch to seniors who need a hot meal and a friendly face; some of us plant gardens and trees; some of help at the hospital; some of us pick up litter and beautify walking trails; some of us chop firewood for poor families; some of us serve veterans who have served for us; some of us help rescue homeless pets; all this and a thousand other opportunities to make Ashland a better place to live. When we volunteer, we form a connection to our neighbors that is rarely seen in any other aspect of our modern-day fractured lives. When we volunteer, it doesn't matter what political party we belong to; it doesn't matter if we are religious; it doesn't matter if we went to college; it doesn't matter how old we are, how rich or how poor, or what the color of our skin or gender is. As volunteers, we join together and accomplish a shared mission by putting aside such notions. I challenge all Ashlanders to volunteer for one of the many local nonprofit organizations to see the positive effect it can have on your life and your community. Most local non-profits offer volunteers free training, flexible schedules, and a healthy dose of goodwill. Robert Casserly Friends of the Animal Shelter DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams