#27 Leave Your Mark on the World

Leave Your Mark on the World – Episode #27

One person’s volunteer service has the potential for touching hundreds of lives. Every day, we impact others in ways we may not even be aware of. The storytellers in this episode describe the joy of expanding their reach into new dimensions of service. Each of these unique experiences are also shared experiences that reveal how humanity is connected through acts of care and respect.

As a college instructor, Mindy takes seriously the expansive perspective that shapes her students’ career and life choices. For them, traveling outside of their region of the country – let alone internationally – is a completely new experience. In refining their global concept, Mindy says, they learn that “the world isn’t just us and them.”

Joan says: “I’ve done volunteer work before, but this was special in…getting to know people’s lives, because it was much more focused on projects.”

Chemida, Global Volunteers Country Manager in St. Lucia, describes local people’s lives are enriched through meaningful contact with volunteers from other countries and different cultures. She believes the “human connection” is the most long-lasting mark that volunteers can leave on the world.

Lynn talks about how serving with Global Volunteers has led her to additional service opportunities in her hometown…and how that has enabled her to influence her own community.

Winnie is one of four Reaching Children’s Potential Program caregivers in Tanzania. She offers the perspective of villagers in rural Africa whom she meets in her outreach work to mothers and children. Transformation occurs, she says, through one-to-one contact, and by offering assistance in practical, respectful ways.

Episode storytellers: Mindy, Joan, Chemida, Lynn, and Winnie