Ordinary people, extraordinary results
What if our nation were able to capitalize on the energy of Americans willing to serve and volunteer for a year or more?
That's the key question posed by Shirley Sagawa in her book, The American Way to Change: How National Service & Volunteers Are Transforming America. The truth is, there's a lot of unharnessed energy out there, and Sagawa shows us how we can tap into it. She profiles real volunteers, as well as the organizations that helped motivate them.
And, we're happy to report, one of those organizations is KaBOOM!. We're not just about building playgrounds and saving play, we're also about developing communities by empowering and uniting local volunteers. Here's one story Sagawa shares in the book:
"Cynthia Gentry thought a new playground would be a fitting way to memorialize her next-door neighbors--a mom and her two young children who were killed in an automobile accident. After consulting the grief-stricken father, she teamed up with other friends and neighbors who wanted some good to come out of the tragedy. But where to begin? ...Gentry searched the Web, found the KaBOOM! online playground planner, and used the Do-It-Yourself tools to help organize the project. Gentry led hundreds of community members who raised funds, solicited donated materials and worked together to build a new place to play."
Sagawa goes on to outline how Gentry kept in close touch with us after the playground was completed and continues to champion the cause of play in her hometown of Atlanta. Says Sagawa, "The path that Cynthia Gentry took, from volunteer to civic activist, is well-traveled."
If you're a self-described "ordinary person" looking to impact your community in an extraordinary way, read more from Sagawa here.
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