(Seguin) — There’s a local push to pair up volunteers with volunteer opportunities in the Seguin area. The city of Seguin is being asked to become a Just Serve community.
Selina Infante-Medina, of Just Serve, says the program is all about bringing communities together to make lives better.
“Anytime A Just Serve representative is standing in front of you, it is because there are three things that we are looking for. We are looking to share kindness. We are looking to serve, and we are looking to uphold integrity and that is what Just Serves stands for. It’s an opportunity to pair the need of community with volunteers who are looking for these specific opportunities,” said Infante-Medina
Infante-Medina is a resident of Seguin, and she says Just Serve helps non-profit and church groups find the support they need for community programs. But she says Just Serve can also be used by individuals to find help for other needs in the community. She says the web-based program can help coordinate all those efforts.
“If there is ever somebody who has a limb in the backyard and needs it moved to the curb where our big, nice picker can come and grab it and shred it for them, that could be something that somebody could actually post on Just Serve. So, think about not only these organizational needs but just the needs of the community. How does one person help another person in the community at no cost? So, this is a site that allows those needs to be hosted and those who are needing to pair with those who are already ready to serve in that volunteer capacity,” said Infante-Medina.
Just Serve is being described as a win-win for communities that use it. She says it helps those who are willing to volunteer find the right fit for their time and talents. She says Just Serve has already made some connections in Seguin, but Infante-Medina says they want to expand that and make Seguin an official Just Serve city.
“We are working just hand in hand with needs that organizations already have and figuring out how we are going to partner those two. Over 400 cities are in there across the country and the one that we do know of locally is just up the road in Houston. Now, what I will say about Seguin is that we are already here. If we are to become A Just Serve City, it means a proclamation is stated which the mayor did in April. So that has already happened. It means that we host a few things from our local community on the website which is already happening so really that designation is just a matter of filling out some paperwork, submitting it to Just Serve and being known as A Just Serve City. That can happen pretty easily and then the next step from there is becoming global. With the growth of our city, I find this an amazing opportunity to stand out amongst the neighboring cities. Let them follow what Seguin is doing for a change,” said Infante-Medina.
Just Serve already has some volunteers signed up in Seguin, and many of them have already gone to work trying to make this a better place to live, work and play.
“Recently here in Seguin, Just Serve did host a community park clean-up so we spread the word that there was a need, gathered some trash bags. It was over 100 people who picked up over 100 pounds of trash. We partnered and all met at the big Seguin letters because those are iconic now for us and then we kind of spread out down the four trails. We went over to Central Park, down toward Starcke, over to Park West and then picked right up at the Walnut Springs Park as well,” said Infante-Medina.
Infante-Medina says accessing Just Serve is quick and simple. She says anyone can volunteer and any organization or individual can ask for help and support from the community.
“JustServe.org is the website. You create a free account and then you put in your zip code. By putting in your zip code, it’s going to give you the opportunities to volunteer and if you have specific interests or needs, you can simply type in those as a key word. Let’s say you want to help specifically with animal rescue, then it will partner you with the opportunity there. If you want to help feed the hungry then it might partner you with the Christian Cupboard so your interest can also be paired with the volunteer opportunity that is set up. I think that’s a wonderful way to just have a win-win across the city — is to figure out what interest we may have and figure out how we could do that,” said Infante-Medina.
Just Serve is an initiative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Infante-Medina says the church part of this is building community and support for others. She says you don’t have to be involved with any church or organization in order to participate in Just Serve.
“The church is the funder of this particular organization, but we never lead with that part. It’s all about service and building community. I did have that question as we met with a group and yes, that is where that comes from but it’s about community. It’s about serving one another and finding a way to do that is working and it’s working across the country,” said Infante-Medina.
Infante-Medina made her presentation during Monday’s special meeting of the Seguin City Council. The council took no formal action, but it was asked to consider making the city an official Just Serve community. It would help to bring more attention to the program, and also help more non-profit groups and churches connect with potential volunteers in the community.
Councilman Jim Lievens says he says how this could help support some of the work already being done by civic groups in Seguin. City Manager Steve Parker said groups like Habitat for Humanity, might also be able to tap into a new and younger group of volunteers by coordinating their efforts through the web-based program.