”Out of the box” suggests breaking free from traditional or established ways of thinking while exploring new and different possibilities. Traditional volunteering as we usually experience it sees individuals offering their time and talents to help others in need by focusing on community demands one at a time. While very worthwhile, some have come up with a different concept for making a community impact.
Fellowship North Church, located on Tazewell Pike, redesigned their community volunteer efforts with the label, “Outside The Box,” a non-traditional support to area organizations. Every fifth Sunday, which occurs about once a quarter, dozens of volunteers combine their time and talents to serve multiple organizations in the area.
Volunteers from Fellowship North Church painting picnic tables at Central High School
The support for each organization is not a haphazard endeavor, but as Mike Sexton with FNC explained using the relationship with Central High School as an example, “We start planning what the school needs for us to do about 4-6 weeks before we arrive.” He continued, “This time the school had six upcoming graduation ceremonies and they wanted us to paint some picnic tables, weed the grounds, rake and basically do a whole lot of lawn work so that guests would be greeted with a nice front exterior upon arrival.”
The volunteers worked at four other locations that weekend with predetermined needs for each facility. The other facilities included Fountain City Ballpark, Compassion Closet, The Manor at Northgate Terrace and Hope Resource Center.
Sexton said that kids loved the volunteer work, especially the painting, “I believe a few got as much paint on themselves as they did the tables.”
We must continue to support, encourage and recognize volunteering in our communities. The volunteers’ selfless dedication will continue to make a positive impact on society far outweighing the negative impact of a few others.
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