Follow Your Passions

We hear phrases like “giving back to the community” and “community outreach” all the time. But what is “community”? A quick Google search provides the following definitions (among others):

- a group of people living in a particular local area
- a group of people having ethnic or cultural or religious characteristics in common
- a group of nations having common interests
- profession: the body of people in a learned occupation
- agreement as to goals
- a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other

Well, that clears it up, right?

Basically, the common thread is “a group”. Generally it indicates a group of humans, though not always, and if you are supporting “your community”, that indicates it is a group of humans you are a part of.

What communities are you a part of? When people volunteer or donate, they often select something that has touched them on a personal level, indicating somehow they feel tied into that community. This is a very natural thing for us to do. But maybe you don’t feel particularly tied into any of the most visible charitable organizations. Does that mean you can’t make a difference you feel great about?

Allow me to challenge you to stretch your mind about what communities you are a part of, and can make a big difference in by volunteering your time, money, and talents. Here is a list of some of the communities I feel tied into, which all tie back into the definitions of “community” listed above:

- the college I graduated from
- my current employer
- my family and friends (and things which are important to them)
- my church
- the city I live in
- my country
- the human race

That last one might be the most important towards saying what I am trying to say, which is - you ARE part of a community. No matter what. And you can give back to your community, you can reach out to your community, however you define that. You can make a difference.