Teaching Values Through Community Service: A Family Story

What is community service to you? Community service has been defined by Wikepedia as unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause.

The church at Clayton Crossings set aside June 21, 2025, to provide encouragement, prayer and accomplish work projects throughout our neighborhoods. This was a very special time to share the gospel of Jesus Christ by meeting real physical needs in helping our communities to find and follow Jesus.

On this day the serve time was 8:30am-12:30pm following a special celebration at the church which culminated with lunch and a family fun experience for all to enjoy.

This was the first time of the inception of Crossings Serve that I did not get to participate. I guess you can say, I had my own unexpected service day. My son and his twin daughters came to visit. The girls were excited and wanted to know what they could help Gigi do. This is the name my grandchildren call me instead of Grandmom, Nana, or any of the other endearing names children may use.  Since I would have been at our church serve day the projects I would have worked on were for next week. They asked if they could help with those jobs and that it didn’t matter, they were outside. I shared with them what we would be doing then got them prepared to work outside. They put on brim hats, sunscreen and insect repellent and were so excited about our time together! Just as on a real job, a few dollars at the end always makes the journey more enticing. Here are the things we did, not necessarily in that order:

Gigi’s Service Day

• Gigi and Laurence measured and cut the thick cardboard, and the girls placed the pieces around the perimeter of the garden area
• Shared soaking cardboard pieces with water hose
• Placed opened bags of white rock to spread evenly onto cardboard
• Watered veggie plants in the garden and flowers in pots and the front flower bed
• Sprayed organic pesticides on plants
• Spread mulch around 3 perennial flowers and one crepe myrtle plant
• Their dad allowed girls to take turns driving him on his riding lawnmower
• Laurence hung my shade cloth over the patio after many delays

This was such a rewarding time for me to spend with my granddaughters and son, priceless! In reflection, Laurence shared how important it was for him to give back to his dad and I and for his girls to learn how valuable it is to work hard and stay on task for inside or outside activities. He shared in a text that while driving home the next day he realized just how therapeutic this experience had been for him. His dad and I were both blessed as well!

Have you been involved in community service or just helping someone to make a difference in their way of life? It is so rewarding, consider reaching out to individuals in your community today! If you have questions on how to get started, maybe I can assist you, contact me wandaphd.com 9196051257 and let’s change life.  Thank you, DrWanda