By JoAnn Laird
Pagosa Springs Rotary Club
It goes without saying that the Pagosa Springs Rotary Club and Habitat for Humanity are all about helping those in need. Recently, when these two nonprofit organizations came together with a generous, giving spirit, much was accomplished.
The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club chooses a monthly, local purpose to better our community. It could be supporting our school teachers with mini-grants, helping the town with the Fourth of July parade or a myriad of other projects. September was chosen to assist the worthy cause of the local Habitat for Humanity.
Habitat is building its 28th home in Pagosa for a single mother with two sons in the hope that their home will be ready for them by Christmas. It takes a village to pull this off. Or a small Colorado town of mighty volunteers.
It was a beautiful day. A day when it would have been easy for all these workers to enjoy the great out-of-doors with their families or do chores around their own homes. Instead, they strapped on tool belts, armed themselves with paint brushes and did the small-town, neighborly thing. They volunteered. They helped someone in need. They went home at the end of the day with a deep satisfaction of the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self.”
In this ever-changing world, the one constant is that it feels darn good to be of help to those that need it. Maybe now more than ever. Not monetarily, but by simply the giving of one’s time.
If you have the inclination to be of help and feel good about yourself as a bonus, visit either the Rotary club, www.pagosaspringsrotary.org, or Habitat, www.habitatarchuleta.org, to explore how you can be of help to your community.
So, whether it’s building houses, picking up highway trash or stuffing backpacks for the Feed the Children Program, there is always something one can contribute with a generous, giving spirit.
