The ServiceSpace service eXchange
ServeX
Small acts of service, offered together.
Bring what you already love doing.
A few hours, a few good people, and work that tends to change the one who does it.
The first thing service changes is us.
Volunteering is usually measured by what it produces — hours given, tasks finished, impact delivered somewhere out there. Over the years we've come to trust something quieter. When we serve with love, something shifts in us first, and that shift isn't a step on the way to the work. It is the work. What ripples out from there has a way of travelling further than anything we could have planned.
To serve
Helping can quietly assume the other is weak, and fixing that they're broken. Serving assumes wholeness on both sides. Nobody here is a beneficiary — we're all just people who showed up.
Critical yeast
Yeast is the smallest thing in the loaf, and it can't rise on its own. Mixed through, it helps everything else rise. The question was never how many of us there are.
Laddership
We try to lead in a way that lets others climb past us — serving first, leading second. Most of the coordinators here began by raising a hand, much like this.
After you raise your hand
Find something that draws you
Less about what you're qualified for, more about what you'd be glad to spend a Saturday on. Each role says plainly what it asks.
Raise your hand
A name, an email, and a line about what draws you. We'll follow with a link to share a bit about your background, and a short orientation — small ways of getting to know each other before anything is settled.
We talk it through
A coordinator writes back. Sometimes the fit is clear right away; sometimes another role suits you better, or the right one hasn't opened yet. We'll let you know either way.
More on how we think about this: 12 Questions Around Volunteerism · The Science of Soul Force
What gifts would you like to offer?
16 ways to give your time, grouped by the kind of gift each one draws on. Most ask more for willingness than experience.
“Hearts have always known that the labor is not the point. The love is the point. The labor is just how the love gets in.” Excerpted from Labor of Love
Not sure where you fit? Tell us a little about yourself on your volunteer page and we'll help you find a place. :)