The Serving Spark: Volunteers Find Meaningful Opportunities

National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 21-27, recognizes the effort and time volunteers contribute to make an impact without requiring anything in return. Highland Park United Methodist Church is grateful for the volunteers who serve, not only on our campus but also at our many Outreach partner locations. Volunteers change lives, year after year.

All it takes for many to find the motivation to volunteer is discovering an opportunity that resonates deeply with them. Connie Austin and her husband, Jeff, have been volunteering at HPUMC Outreach partner North Dallas Shared Ministries ever since first serving there on Churchwide Serving Day in 2023. Connie and Jeff tried different opportunities throughout the years and enjoyed them, but found their volunteer home at NDSM.

“Jeff's mom volunteered at food pantries for years and years, so it was always something that was a little close to our heart,” Connie said. “But then, when we came here and worked last year, it just felt like something that we could be involved with the people in the community as well as other volunteers.”

In the food pantry at NDSM, Connie sorts bags of dry bags—with cans of food and dried pasta—as well as bags with meat and fresh vegetables. On a given day, you can find Connie giving food directly out of the door to those in need, or making sure food items are stocked and where they need to be for other volunteers, who then hand out the food.

“Not even quite a year ago, we were serving about 150 families a day, and we're now serving anywhere from 170 to 200 families a day,” Connie said. “So clearly, there's a need in our community, and it feels good to be directly helping. There are a lot of people that are getting great benefits from North Dallas Shared Ministries.”

In addition to the food pantry, NDSM is home to a closet that provides donated clothes to those in need, as well as a medical clinic, eye clinic, and dental clinic. They also help with tax returns free of charge, provide rent and utility assistance, and offer ESL classes. The organization only has two paid employees—the rest are volunteers.

“We serve people who are homed and people who are unhomed,” Connie said. “I can see that it's needed with many of these families and individuals that come—they need a source of food and nourishment. And then this organization does so many other things that I'm not directly involved in. It’s just made a huge impact on this community.”

For many volunteers, both the people they help and the people they serve alongside make volunteering enjoyable. Connie and Jeff retired a few years ago and now enjoy volunteering and contributing to the community as a couple. Connie said she has also made friends through volunteering and recommends it to others.

“Find something meaningful to you, and just try it,” she said. “You don't have to fully commit on day one. Try different things and find something that feels good and a place that you feel like you can contribute, and make some friends as well.”

North Dallas Shared Ministries was established in 1984 and was supported by Highland Park United Methodist Church from the beginning. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the organization, with about 100 serving those in need.

“As Paul [Rasmussen] often talks about in sermons, our mission is to serve and to do what Jesus did,” Connie said. “I think that this plays directly into our mission as a church to serve our communities and love the people in our communities.”

Thanks to our volunteers, a collective impact is being made across Dallas—at HPUMC and with Outreach partners in the community surrounding the church. We want to say, “Thank you” this Volunteer Appreciation Week, to the volunteers who give selflessly to make a difference in the lives of our congregants and our neighbors in Dallas.