Make the world better: There’s an app for that

It’s spring! Okay, it’s still snowing, but Alaska is beginning its annual emergence—more light, more heat, more energy. I love it!

And, as vaccinations continue and infection rates drop, I feel ready to do….something. I feel a longing to help…somewhere. The desire is there, but I don’t always know how to channel my energy.

Until now. Because now I can use justserve.org.

Justserve.org is a website for your computer and an app for your phone that helps you make connections between your ability and availability to serve, and local, national, even international needs. Maybe you have only a few minutes, but want to serve? Sign up to transcribe documents for the Smithsonian. Maybe you want to do something as a family? Check out serving at a soup kitchen or food pantry. Maybe you have a group of teens who want to use their vitality for good? Consider taking a shift at Mat-Su Recycling or doing tasks at the Senior Center. Maybe you want your younger children to experience making and giving things to those in need? Take a look at Operation Gratitude or Project Linus, making items for first responders or children in need. Have only an hour or two a month? Maybe taking photos of graves at a local cemetery would be a perfect fit for you.

Bottom line: there are at least forty-four projects—local and not-so-local—available today for Mat-Su area volunteers on justserve.org. You can research projects of interest, and find links to sign up for them. One stop shop.

Through connections I’ve found there, my family regularly shelved books at the library together. I worked with teens doing yard work and window washing at the Palmer Senior Center. I signed up for Be My Eyes (you answer a call to give sighted help to the blind) and I was able to volunteer at a local food pantry. Nothing big. But something.

I am only one,But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. --Edward Everett Hale

As followers of Christ, “who went about doing good,” (KJV Acts 10:38), I believe this is how we change the world. As the organizers of the justserve.org site acknowledge, “We may not solve world hunger immediately…but even small efforts quickly add up to make a real difference.” As we serve together, “mutual understanding increases, misconceptions can be corrected, and new friendships are built.” Isn’t that what we need more of? People doing a little something, solving problems, making the world better.

Some details about the site: when you first open it, you put in your zip code, and hit search—but on the next page, you need to expand the search radius to 25 miles in order to see all the projects available. (Of course, if you expand the radius to 50 miles, you can see projects in Eagle River and Anchorage as well.) Be sure to click “see more” at the bottom of this second page to see all the many choices available.

Disclaimer: the JustServe site isn’t perfect, and sometimes hasn’t behaved properly for me. If the website is not working, I close my browser window or reopen my app. Don’t give up on it if it hiccups—this site is rich with possibilities you really can’t find anywhere else.

As I prepared to write this column, I decided to use JustServe to try something new, so I logged in and signed up for a few projects of interest. The next day I got a call from the Salvation Army. I drove over and filled out a little paperwork and the following day I spent a few hours helping with packing food boxes. I met some wonderful people, stocked shelves, and filled orders. It didn’t take long to see that the scanty staff often does this big job without much help. In the short time I was there, more than 20 families were fed, and other personal and family needs were met in a private, kind way. I just did a little hauling and packing, nothing much. But it felt good to be a helper--like I was part of something bigger. With the help of justserve.org, I didn’t have to do everything, but I was able to do…something.

Kristin Fry, with her family and Air Force (retired) husband, has lived and served in Holland and Ghana and throughout the United States. Alaska has been their beloved home since 1992. They are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.