Living in a tight-knit city like St. Louis Park where everyone goes out of their way in order to help others may seem a bit overwhelming to the average person. However, when you find the right place or people to go out of the way for, that place can make all the difference.

At the beginning of this year I was given the opportunity to volunteer at a local non-profit organization called Perspectives, an organization providing prevention, intervention and recovery services for children with limited support at home.

Every Friday I work with the children who are in the program by cooking in the kitchen with them, sitting down and eating with them and cleaning up the mess afterwards.

The kids I work with are bright, loud and energetic. There is never a time where I’m not actively working with the kids and helping them out with certain tasks in the kitchen.

By working in the kitchen they are learning basic cooking skills that can be useful for them later on in their lives.

Along with working in the kitchen with the kids, I am also able to engage them in a classroom setting.

I read with them and help them with any problems or questions they have regarding math or English.

No matter what setting I’m in, I enjoy knowing that I am making a difference. I am hopefully acting as a role model toward these kids who often times come from homes where they are not made a priority.

Volunteering for Perspectives has showed me that the key to enjoying service to others and the community is finding the right place to work in and spend your time.

This can cause a person to no longer feel overwhelmed about the idea of needing to help out in the community.

It is important to find areas or topics that you are interested in and feel passionate about in order to find your niche or the right place to volunteer.

Once you have found that, the experience you will have with the volunteering will ultimately become more meaningful to you individually and help you develop skills that will be useful in the future.

What’s the point? Finding the right place to volunteer can make a difference.