A crowd of 2,301 volunteers show up on a Saturday to give their day in service to their neighbors and the community of Memphis, Tennessee.
Young boys serve with their parents to speedily bag 10,000 bags of groceries, a young mother with infant in sling kindly passes groceries to Guests of Honor, kids serve their fellow classmates in the Kids Zone, and one 109-year-old volunteer named “Mother Irving” encourages families in the Connections area.
One hundred and nine years and still volunteering.
Mother Irving may not have been able to carry groceries to cars, jump with smiling kids in bounce houses, or guide families from one free service to the next. Yet, by her mere attendance as a volunteer, Mother Irving inspires everyone who experiences her service to simply never stop caring.
We can’t avoid aging — there are many limiting conditions and situations that we simply cannot overcome. Certain talents that will never be ours but we can always have heart.
Mother Iriving and 2,300 other Tennessean volunteers exercised their hearts and sent Memphis a unanimous message with their presence: “We care.”
