Flickr Photo Credit: Amy Likes Pictures

Over the years, I have learned that money cannot buy everything you need, but the help from a few skillfully placed volunteers can be more valuable than gold. North Carolinians are tremendously generous with their time and talent; the Corporation for National and Community Service alone reports that 23,000 people of all ages volunteer in numerous capacities in the state.

This generosity has developed into a culture of volunteerism and is being highlighted throughout April, National Volunteer Month. Volunteers provide valuable services in areas the government and private funding do not reach. As such, volunteers play an important role by filling in where there are gaps in service and skillfully holding things together.

Reflecting on the past experiences I had while being a caregiver for my sick mother, I will be answering the call to action by volunteering with some of my friends for Circles of Care. A program of Project Compassion that serves the counties of Wake, Orange and Chapel Hill, Circles of Care provides direct serves primarily to elderly African Americans in my local community.

The program is made up of support teams who provide practical, spiritual, and emotional support for African-Americans living with serious illnesses such as advanced cancer and other debilitating diseases. Circles of Care offer a valuable service because it fills a gap in service for African Americans who experience later diagnosis, more untreated pain and less supportive care for symptoms.

The team members are eager to help, possess a variety of skills, and have flexible schedules to offer practical assistance like preparing meals, running errands, telephoning, giving spiritual advice, locating general and cancer-specific resources, and taking the “care friends” on outings. All of this adds to their quality of life. (No medical care is provided because that is taken care of by medical professionals.)

Volunteers for the Circles of Care Program are providing essential support that is sometimes referred to as horizontal giving, which is what people often do for each other as part of community in rural and less urbanized locations. In fact, we call the receivers of our care “friends,” because the service we provide is what friends would do for each other.

This type of horizontal giving is “philanthropy of community” because it is giving that happens using existing resources within the community. This type of giving is different from using resources from outside of the community offered through formal organizations.

Indeed, volunteerism is the golden thread that holds the fabric of our community together and keeps it tightly woven.