Volunteerism and your community

"Those who aren't volunteering, just probably haven't been asked yet," says Tahna Cooper, executive director of the CASA program in Twin Falls, Idaho. In this video Cooper explains how volunteers make time to give one-on-one support to children through the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program and comes to that conclusion based on the feeling one gets in service to others. It is fulfilling to give of oneself in service to others. It makes our communities better places to live.

Barry Knoblich is also highlighted in this video. As the membership chair for the Twin Falls Optimist Club, he explains that service is fun. Over the past three years, the Twin Falls Optimist Club has grown by 50 members, and now 125 (and still growing), the club has donated more than $30,000 to a school track fund, and made many other contributions of money and time to a number of worthwhile projects that may not have happened without the club's support. The Optimist Club understands that if a project is not fun, a volunteer might not stay around long enough to feel the fulfillment that service brings.


Twin Falls, Idaho is blossoming from the attention of its community volunteers. Your city can too. Get involved - one way to do that is to start an Optimist Club. Ask me how.