Everyone talks about how connection with the world and community around you matters and everyone says why it is good for business. But there is so much more to it than that! Community gives you a sense of purpose and altruism that doesn’t come from passion, hobbies or love alone. After spending a fair bit of time the other week volunteering at a couple of different events, I find I have been reenergized in so many unexpected ways.

Setting up puzzles for 20 school kids to have fun putting together after they ate their breakfast, provided by the Food Bank, made me see that the simple act of this low tech game felt like a huge accomplishment to these kids. You could see it in their faces as they used their hands and their friends to match up the colour of pieces in the puzzle. It didn’t matter if the puzzle was too hard for them, they just liked that challenge. Also, they were only there for such a short time that they didn’t really have time to complete it. As we cleaned them up, they were okay knowing they did as much as they could in the time available.

This is something we can learn from them. Do the best you can, in the time you have!

The second event we were volunteering at as well as a partner in presenting was the Airdrie Angel Angel Lift day at Good Earth Coffeehouse. Switchback had the pleasure of being a major partner to help put this event together, but none of that really matters when you get to be a part of it and then watch the day unfold. A couple of our favourite moments were watching kids that had never met before challenge each other to simple games, and to watch my mom play with these same kids just like they were her grandchildren.

Giving back really is a selfish thing because we are sure that we got more from it than they did, and that energy will carry with us through the weeks and months.