Neighbor Guy
City People. Urban Living. Other Stuff.
The Rising Tide of Good Intentions
My sister called the other day to tell me that volunteerism was on the rise, and that if I didn’t start giving of my time in a meaningful way, I would wake up one day filled with regret.
What do you think I should do, I innocently asked?
Turns out my sister did have a specific volunteer project in mind – namely, tilling the raised vegetable beds in her backyard, the contents of which were beginning to show distressing signs of a full-scale weed invasion.
As it happens, Neighbor Guy fancies himself as having a green thumb, and so I went along gladly. Hours later, tiller in hand, wilting helplessly under the blazing afternoon sun, I found myself framing my sister’s take on volunteerism in – you guessed it – an urban community context.
We elect city officials to make our city neighborhoods safer, cleaner, and generally more pleasant to be in. But the simple fact is that there are often yawning gaps between glaring needs and city budgets, between neighborhood necessity and bureaucratic expediency.
And where these gaps exist, you’re likely to find a group of volunteers, sleeves rolled up, saving the day.
Think of it as Getting Down to Brass Tacks meets Up With People.
Volunteering is where the action is, and wherever there’s a neighborhood success story, there’s a good chance that a group of volunteers is standing behind it.
Think of it: The transformation of an abandoned lot into a vibrant community garden is just a few volunteers away! Did somebody say…ratatouille?
The bad news is that there’s always so much more to be done. There’s always garbage to be picked up, graffiti to be erased, a forsaken slab of concrete in dire need of a facelift.
Our neighborhoods and our cities are more or less like ourselves: If we don’t make time for routine upkeep, things can get ugly in a hurry.
Still, Neighbor Guy chooses to observe this particular social reality through a glass half full. People are getting their acts together. Communities are feeling empowered. Volunteerism, as my sister says, is on the rise.
It’s not that volunteers are taking over the streets, vowing to override all manner of global injustice with their good intentions. Cities still need responsible civic leaders and reasonable operating budgets.
It’s just that they also need a few good volunteers.
I appraised my day’s work in the garden. The soil had been turned, the weeds had been banished, and I needed a break. My hands were covered with blisters, and all of this thinking about noblesse oblige was making me hungry.
I put away the tiller and headed inside. Did I forget to mention that I’d been invited to stay for dinner?
My sister had volunteered to cook.
