By Rose Tatum, CVA, Founder & CEO of Volunteer Leadership Lab
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, there is no better way to show we care for our country than volunteering, because pride in our country is pride in our community.
As I reflect on what it means to truly care for the well being of our country, I think about the people within it. Not the country as an abstract idea, a flag, or a slogan, but the actual people who live here. Our neighbors. Our coworkers. The family down the street whose porch light has been out for a month because no one has had time to fix it. The senior who could use a ride to a doctor’s appointment. The student who just needs someone to believe in them.
When the founders talked about building a nation, they were not talking about buildings or borders. They were talking about people coming together to create something that did not exist before. A community that looked out for everyone within it. A place where neighbors helped neighbors because that was simply what you did. Long before there were formal nonprofits or volunteer coordinators, there were barn raisings, church suppers for families in need, and porches where someone always had a little extra to share.
That spirit did not disappear. It just changed shape.
What Founding Ideals Look Like in Wilmington Today
Here in Wilmington, we do not have to look far to see those same values still at work. Every time someone shows up to sort donations, distribute food, mentor a young person, or spend a Saturday morning at a park cleanup, they are living out the same idea that built this country in the first place: we are stronger when we show up for each other.
And that idea takes many forms. Sometimes it looks like a group of neighbors picking up trash along a stretch of road or shoreline, restoring a small piece of the place we all share. Sometimes it looks like spending an afternoon at the animal shelter, walking dogs or socializing cats who are waiting for their forever homes. Sometimes it means adopting a park, taking ownership of a green space, planting flowers, and keeping it a place the whole neighborhood can enjoy.
Sometimes it is even simpler than that. It is checking in on the neighbor who lives alone. It is mowing a yard for someone who cannot do it themselves. It is noticing when a street, a yard, or a building needs care, and being the one who steps up.
And then there is the work being done every day across our community by organizations that exist to meet very real human needs. The Harrelson Center, for example, brings together a network of nonprofit partners, each focused on a different piece of what it means to care for people. These organizations provide free legal help to people trying to get back on their feet, support for families navigating mental illness, programs for individuals re-entering the community after incarceration, and resources for survivors of domestic violence. Others provide food, shelter, and clothing to neighbors experiencing homelessness, or work to ensure that young children in New Hanover County have the support they need to grow, learn, and thrive.
None of this work happens without volunteers.
Volunteering Is an Investment, Too
We often talk about volunteering as something we give. And it is. But it is also something we receive.
When you volunteer, you are investing in your community, yes, but you are also investing in yourself. You build new skills. You meet people you might never have crossed paths with otherwise. You gain a sense of purpose and connection that is hard to find anywhere else. Research consistently shows that people who volunteer report higher levels of life satisfaction and stronger social connections.
And in a quieter way, you are investing in your country too. A nation is only as strong as the communities within it, and communities are only as strong as the people willing to show up for one another. Every hour given is a small deposit into something larger than any one of us, a kind of civic infrastructure built not with concrete, but with care.
Patriotism Is a Verb
We often think of patriotism as something we feel. A swell of pride during the national anthem, a flag on the porch, fireworks on a summer night. These things matter. But patriotism is not only something we feel. It is also something we do.
Civic engagement, in its truest sense, is patriotism in action. It is showing up to a city council meeting, voting in a local election, serving on a board, or volunteering at the organization down the street. It is paying attention to your community and choosing to be part of shaping it, rather than simply living in it.
The founders understood this. They did not build a country and then walk away from it. They stayed engaged, debated, organized, and worked, often at the local level, to make their communities function. Civic life was not separate from daily life. It was woven into it.
That same kind of engagement is available to all of us today, and it does not require a title or a position. Showing up for a cleanup, mentoring a young person, or helping a neighbor in need are all forms of civic participation. They are ways of saying, this place matters, and so do the people in it.
As we mark 250 years, it is worth remembering that the health of a democracy is not measured only in elections or institutions. It is measured in how its people treat one another, day to day, neighbor to neighbor. Volunteering is not separate from civic life. It is civic life, lived out in the most direct way possible.
A Challenge Worth Taking On
This year gives us a meaningful reason to think differently about service. As our country marks 250 years, we are inviting Wilmington-area volunteers to take part in the 250 Hours of Service Challenge, running through the end of the year.
The idea is simple. Together, as a community, we aim to give 250 hours of service in honor of the people and places that make this region what it is. Whether you contribute one hour or twenty, every hour counts toward something bigger than any one person, and every hour will be tracked so we can see, together, what this community is capable of.
This is where the ILM Volunteer Hub comes in.
The ILM Volunteer Hub is a new platform built to connect volunteers with nonprofits across New Hanover County, making it easier than ever to find opportunities that fit your schedule, your skills, and your interests. Whether you want to spend a morning picking up trash along the riverfront, an afternoon mentoring a child, a Saturday at the animal shelter, or an ongoing commitment with an organization serving families in need, the Hub is designed to help you find your place to serve, and to log your hours toward our community-wide goal.
As we celebrate 250 years of this country, let’s also celebrate what makes a community strong: people who show up. Visit the ILM Volunteer Hub, find an opportunity that speaks to you, and be part of the 250 Hours of Service Challenge. Because caring for our country starts right here, with each other.
