MelissaRose13

I'm writing this review late, but better late than never. :D

Anyway, let me just say that I got this book at the dollar store, but I would have gladly paid more for it because it is useful and encouraging. I'm a believer in life being more than just for yourself. I believe that everyone should engage in community service of some sort because there is a lot of work to be done in this planet. Though globalization is supposed to help out many and it has made progress in a lot of aspects, I also believe that it has become damaging as well. Not believe I know actually, from things that I've read and learned. Think about these two things for example. 20% of the world consumes 86% of all goods and services, while the poorest consume 14%. The cattle that are raised specifically to be used for consumption, consume more than one third of the world's grain.



Isn't that insane? There is a lot of poverty and inequality in this world. A lot of the progress made is measured in economical terms and though a lot of money is being made, it doesn't mean it is being spread throughout equally. It's sometimes hard to remember, but for those of us living in the U.S, our lifestyle is not a common one. We are the minority in the world. Even for those of us who don't have that much money, we are most likely still better off than a lot of people in the world. Therefore, I believe, because we are better off, we should be helping people more. Our world is a mess and though things will never be perfect I think at least something can be done. And I think the best way to begin is to start small, like volunteering around your community, then expanding and seeing if you can volunteer in other countries. The book doesn't tell you, you should take this path, this is just my own personal vision.

What is great about this book that not only does it give you suggestions at the different types of community service that can be done, but it gives you different options. Like it mentions how some people may not want to do hands on volunteer work, like working at a soup kitchen, but this does not mean that they aren't valuable. This book places equal importance in those who, for example, are board members or people who make fliers for organization or people who donate money. This book lets you know that anyone can find something to do for any organization, you just have to look. And any help you give is going to most likely be useful.

What I also liked was that it was realistic on people's expectations and what actually happens. For example, some people like working with teenagers and they want to be a hero to them. This doesn't really happen that much and some people might not even say thank you for your help. The book let's you know that and advises you to help younger kids instead because they are more prone to seeing you as a "hero." It was also realistic in the sense that it acknowledged that some people do volunteer work to enhance their resumes or other things like that. And that's perfectly ok. After all, everyone needs to do things for themselves as well. And anyway, you are still helping. Work is still being done.

I really enjoyed this book and even though I've been doing volunteer work for some time now I learned new things. I recommend this book to everyone because like I said I'm a believer in everyone helping out.