When I recently called Madison resident Cathy Larsen, I expected to chat for a couple of minutes about the volunteer opportunities with the Madison River of Hope. 20 minutes later I hung up with an entirely new story to share about a service that blew me completely out of the water: JustServe.
About JustServe
JustServe.Org is a global website and service provided complimentary by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that has one mission: to connect those who want to volunteer with those who are in need of volunteers.
Larsen is a specialist for the volunteer opportunities here in North Alabama and is incredibly passionate about serving our community this way.
“I can’t think of one thing people are going through that volunteer service doesn’t help with. Volunteering means that you’re getting outside of yourself, which allows you to really put things into perspective,” says Larson.
Larson explained that the premise of JustServe.Org is very simple. If your organization or event needs volunteers, you can contact JustServe to help find them. On the other hand, if you are in need of volunteer hours or just have the heart to serve in some capacity, then the opportunities are plentiful throughout the website.
“Let’s say you travel on a family vacation. The cool thing about JustServe is that you can take some time as a family to find a volunteer opportunity in the area you’re vacationing and spend some time serving together. It’s really a cool thing.”
After moving to Alabama four years ago, Larsen explained that she wanted to do more and serve but didn’t know where to start.
“Usually you have to search for various organizations and dig around to see what opportunities they need volunteers for, but JustServe allows you to visit one website to search and sign up.”
Larsen explains that there are many unseen benefits of serving others through volunteer efforts, such as the connections one will make, new career doors that may open, and just the general feel-good effects that serving leads to.
“The connective power of serving within your community is a beautiful thing,” says Larsen.
One of the biggest arenas for JustServe in our area is the Madison Street Festival. For the past several years, this service has been utilized to find the mass amount of volunteers needed to pull off a festival of this magnitude.
Volunteer in Madison, Alabama with JustServe.Org
If you want to learn more about JustServe.Org, please visit their website or email Cathy Larsen directly.
To sign up to volunteer with Madison River of Hope or see other Madison-related volunteer options, please click here.
To view COVID-19 considerations for volunteering, please see here.
More from Madison
Where to Take Salsa Dancing Lessons in Madison
