| *
Our
prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least
don't hurt them.
-- The
Dalai Lama *
I
believe that individuals can make a difference in society. Since periods of change
such as the present one come so rarely in human history, it is up to each of us
to make the best use of our time to help create a happier world.
--
The Dalai Lama
|  |
*
"It is our collective and individual responsibility to protect and nurture the
global family, to support its weaker members and to preserve and tend to the environment
in which we all live."
--
The Dalai Lama
"I believe
that to meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater
sense of universal responsibility. We must all learn to work not just for our
own self, family, or nation but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility
is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace, the equitable
use of natural resources, and through concern for future generations, the proper
care of the environment."
-- The Dalai
Lama
"Volunteers
are not servants. Volunteers are partners working together for improving America's
future."
-- Mayor Richard Daly
 |
*
Older,
younger, anyone can help. We've learned that our legislators listen, and people
with passionate and thoughtful concerns make a difference every day. We've had
constituents initiate legislation, lobby for it, organize meetings and events,
and, of course, call, mail, e-mail and visit legislators to express their views.
It's really great to see how much difference that individuals can make.
--
Doris Day |
 |
*
It is
when you have done your work honestly, when you have contributed your share to
the common fund that you begin to live.
-- Eugene
V. Debs |
"Now
my friends, I am opposed to the system of society in which we live today, not
because I lack the natural equipment to do for myself but because I am not satisfied
to make myself comfortable knowing that there are thousands of my fellow men who
suffer for the barest necessities of life. We were taught under the old ethic
that man's business on this earth was to look out for himself. That was the ethic
of the jungle; the ethic of the wild beast. Take care of yourself, no matter what
may become of your fellow man. Thousands of years ago the question was asked;
''Am I my brother's keeper?'' That question has never yet been answered in a way
that is satisfactory to civilized society.
Yes,
I am my brother's keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired,
not by any maudlin sentimentality but by the higher duty I owe myself. What would
you think me if I were capable of seating myself at a table and gorging myself
with food and saw about me the children of my fellow beings starving to death.
"
-- Eugene V. Debs
| *
“I believe we are put on this earth to be of service. It’s how I find meaning
in my life. And it's fun!”
-- Dana
Delany |
|
"Many countries
are now experiencing the benefits to be gained when individuals are provided the
necessary means to undertake voluntary action in their own communities."
-- Ad de Raad, Executive Coordinator, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme
"Despite the
important progress underway, much work remains to be done in terms of recognizing
and harnessing the full potential of volunteerism for development. It is indeed
events like International Volunteer Day that help to highlight the impact volunteers
are having in every region."
-- Ad de Raad, Executive Coordinator, United
Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme
"If
I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one
life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."
-- Emily Dickinson
The
greatest poverty that can afflict the human spirit is the loss of a generous heart.
You will know that success has slipped away when your passion for helping others
grows cold.
-- Bill Lane Doulos
The debt that each generation owes to the past, it must pay to the future.
-- Abigail Scott Dunaway
Volunteerism
is the voice of the people put into action. These actions shape and mold the present
into a future of which we can all be proud.
-- Helen Dyer
"Keep
on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow -- perhaps it all will."
-- Ecclesiastes
*
"Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not
something you do in your spare time."
-- Marian
Wright Edelman |  |
| "A hundred times
every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depends on the labors of
other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the
measure as I have received and am still receiving."
-- Albert
Einstein *
"Only a life lived for others is worth living."
-- Albert
Einstein |  |
"Our
deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds."
-- George Eliot
| 
|
Paul Revere
earned his living as a silversmith. But what do we remember him for? His volunteer
work. All activism is volunteering in that it's done above and beyond earning
a living and deals with what people really care passionately about. Remember,
no one gets paid to rebel. All revolutions start with volunteers.
-- Susan
J. Ellis *
"Volunteering
is so pervasive it's invisible. We take for granted all the things that have been
pioneered by concerned, active volunteers."
-- Susan
J. Ellis |
| *
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely
try to help another without helping himself."
-- Ralph
Waldo Emerson |  |
To
laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection
of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal
of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to leave the world a bit better whether
by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know that
even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
-- Ralph
Waldo Emerson
"I
am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still
I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse
to do the something that I can do."
-- Edward Everett
| |
*
“...the
world is a giant community now. This excuse of distance, time, doesn’t work...We’re
all so connected. We can’t spend every second of our lives worrying about another
family miles away but we somehow have to factor it in where we can."
-- Ralph
Fiennes |
Remember that when
you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received - only
what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice
and courage.
-- Saint
Francis of Assisi
"How
wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world."
--
Anne Frank
| 
|
I shall pass through this
world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show
to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall
not pass this way again.
-- Mahatma
Gandhi *
"The
best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others."
-- Mahatma
Gandhi |
*
“Whatever community organization, whether it's a women's organization, or fighting
for racial justice … you will get satisfaction out of doing something to give
back to the community that you never get in any other way.”
-- Ruth
Bader Ginsburg |  |
If
someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of encouragement,
or attempts to understand a lonely person, extraordinary things begin to happen.
-- Loretta Girzaitis (b. 1920)
He
who does nothing for others does nothing for himself
-- Goethe
| *
"If every American donated five hours a week, it would equal the labor of twenty
million full-time volunteers."
--Whoopi
Goldberg *
"When
you are kind to someone in trouble, you hope they'll remember and be kind to someone
else. And it'll become like a wildfire."
-- Whoopi
Goldberg |  |
"I
have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced that they
are about to change the world. I am more awed by ... those who ... struggle to
make one small difference after another."
-- Ellen Goodman
"One
of the things I keep learning is that the secret of being happy is doing things
for other people. "
-- Dick Gregory
I
expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do
or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not
defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.
-- Stephen Grellet
-- "I am only
one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something,
and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do something that I can
do."
-- Edmund Everett Hale
"Without
community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important
to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It's the way in which we ourselves
grow and develop..."
-- Dr. Dorothy I. Height
| 
|
*
"If you ever need a helping hand, it is at the end of your arm. As you get older
you must remember you have a second hand. The first one is to help yourself. The
second hand is to help others."
-- Audrey
Hepburn |
"Help
your sister's boat across the water, and yours too will reach the other side."
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind."
-- Eric
Hoffer (1902-83)
The
heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment
to make a difference in the lives of others.
-- DeAnn Hollis
