The Beauty of Community: Why I Love Volunteering for a Cause

Last week, I traveled – I rarely travel, as Paige is disabled and leaving her can leave quite a hole in her routine. It takes work, it takes planning. But, if I’m traveling for the right cause, it’s all worth it. This time, my cause was the Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood Foundation. It was for my community – the ones who get it. 

A Different Kind of Community

We were created for community – created for the purpose of encouraging one another. God didn’t just make Adam, He made Eve too – they communed with one another, and with God. Community is so important – it’s how we grow, learn, and get things done. 

Before Paige, my community consisted primarily of my physical family and my church family. That has still remained true! Yet now, my community has expanded. I have many more unique people in my community now. I have a five year old who walks on every edge of her foot, doesn’t talk, but gives the best cuddles of my day. I have a 15 year old bestie who may be quadriplegic and having dystonia, but he still gives me THE best smile I’ve ever seen. I can hug someone I’ve never met, just because I know she has a child like mine. I can cry to a couple I met two minutes ago, because I know they’re 20 years ahead of me and I see the miles ahead.

There are two types of community. One is the type that you simply spend the most time with – you have the same values, you have the same goal. Seeing each other makes you happy. 

Then there’s the other one. The type that literally takes all your emotions from your darkest moments and lays them out for all to see. You show the hard and the good. You’re all fighting – it’s like you’re in a battlefield and you run out to give each other a hug and a smile, saying “Keep going”. That’s my AHC family. They see me fight, but they don’t just give a hug – they fight for me too. 

More Than Just My Daughter

There’s one way to do it – fighting for my own child. Putting all of my energy into Paige – finding a cure for her mutation, her life, her smile. I do fight for her – but when I’m fighting for her AND that guy who smiles at me no matter what, and the little girl balancing in unbelievable ways, it makes it even more meaningful.

You empathize with other childrens symptoms that your child may not have – you see the mild to severe, and your perspective changes – but it just keeps you fighting harder.

Not for Profit – Not About Me!

I never thought I’d be a volunteer for a nonprofit organization. I always thought there are more important things, and I simply don’t have time. There ARE more important things to me – and that’s why everything in my life, I do for the same reason – for the glory of God. Christ called me to serve – I am a servant. He blessed me with a special baby – and now I have a chance to serve an even more expansive community. They are now part of my mission, they’re part of my cause. 

Think about even just the way the IRS calls it – a “not for profit organization”. We don’t exist to grow ourselves, our income, or our status. We exist for one purpose, and we’re not allowed to drift. If we begin drifting, if we lose our purpose, even the government will find us out. When people give money to a cause like this, they can be assured – it’s for Austin. It’s for Paige. It’s for Charli. It’s not for profit – it’s not for gain. Our purpose is much more than that – our purpose is to get Charli the equipment she needs, it’s to find a new medicine to help her avoid seizures. It’s for research to see why Paige stops breathing. It’s for growing a community – a community with an amazing hope, an amazing purpose. 

There’s a million other communities out there. Not all of them are the same. You may be able to help a child with SMA – you may be able to help those other rare disease organizations. It’s one thing to drop a $20 bill every once and a while to an organization the government knows and supports – it’s another to give time and resources to a community of fighting families, who know exactly who and what they’re fighting for. 

How can you serve a community that’s not for gain, not for profit? How can you expend your energy for the needs of someone else? I have so much work to do – perhaps we can all get there, together.