The LDS church will be donating $10M to build a homeless shelter here in Utah. The money to build this shelter is coming from donations of the Humanitarian Aid Fund of the church. In an article written by Ashton Edwards of Fox 13 News, it is stated that the church is still trying to purchase property to build the shelter. The shelter would be located at 130 East and 700 South in Salt Lake City, where a Deseret Industries is currently located.
A cougar from the Cougar Claw interviewed Andrew Busath, the Latinos in Action teacher. In Latinos in Action, the students give back to the school and community. The questions asked to Mr. Busath were based on service and how to give back to the community we live in.
After being asked how people can give back to the community, Busath’s answer was, “There are a lot of ways to give back. There is Key Club here at the school, Kearns Youth Council.” He added that United Way has a lot of opportunities to allow people to volunteer.
Mr. Busath continued, “There are several programs throughout that could use help. After school programs, Senior Center etc.” He mentioned that small things also count as giving back to the community. “It is also doing little things like picking up trash in neighborhoods, raking leaves or shoveling snow for our neighbors, saying hi or smiling to to people when we pass them,” Mr. Busath added.
For the end of his response he said, “From the small things come big things.” So if you want to give back to the community, it can be small things such as greeting someone or volunteering at events.
To find volunteer projects, Mr. Busath says, “Two sites I use a lot are www.volunteermatch.org and www.justserve.org. You can find projects based on your interests.” He added, “United Way also has a site and the coordinator Steve Whatcott is a good source.” To end his response, “There are a lot of opportunities, you just need to spend a few minutes to look.” If you’re having trouble to find places to volunteer, use Mr. Busath’s examples..
The next two questions were asking what kinds of things people will gain from volunteering and it’d help in the future. He said, “People gain so much from serving,” and he continued to say that it helps in many ways. He added, “Serving makes you happier and helps you feel better about yourself, helps you do better in school, and helps you gain empathy and respect for others,” to his response. Busath said that with community service it’ll help in the future tremendously and that you can get scholarships from service. Mr, Busath ended his response with, “Colleges are looking at more and more at community service and involvement.” Make your future easier, get involved, and be able to receive scholarships for college.
One of the last questions asked of Busath were, if people have to be a specific age to serve, to which he responded, “No. Martin Luther King Jr said ‘Anyone can be great because anyone can serve.”
There was another question asked about any kind of obstacles, “Managing your time is the biggest obstacle,” he started and finished with, “but this will turn into skill as you do more and more service.” The interview with Mr. Busath ended with asking if there are any specific kind of traits people are looking for in volunteers. “The desire to serve and help others is the most important trait!” If this describes you, go out and volunteer.
Getting involved with your community and giving back is good. It will make people happy, but it will also make you feel good about yourself. If you start volunteering right now, it will help you a lot in the future just like Andrew Busath said. Remember it won’t just help you, but it will help others too.