Recently I had the pleasure to attend a choir concert at Melrose United Church in downtown Hamilton.
Unseasonably warm weather added to the beauty of the day. The acoustics were flawless in the vast 1928 limestone sanctuary as the student choir from Westmount Secondary High School sang about the uniqueness of all of us, that regardless of social economic status we all have the opportunity to plant a positive seed along our life journey.
Entering my second year of retirement from Mission Services, I reflected on the dilemma shared with me by a recently retired colleague: what to do with all his extra time! Should I get a part time job to supplement my income? Stats Canada reports that a majority of retirees are doing just that in vast numbers. Time traded for cash, it’s a reality.
However, as I shared a coffee with him, I looked at all the opportunities to share one’s own unique talents by planting seeds of optimism and hope for a new generation facing challenges we could not have dreamed of just a decade ago.
In conversations with the Executive Director of a respected Christian charity in the core of Hamilton I learned that in one ward alone 80% of the households are lead by single moms. There are minimal strong male role models for young children living on the fringe of society and as such are prime targets for gang leaders and crime.
To combat this social challenge the agency is seeking retired “Grand dads” to become surrogate positive male role models. What a great project. Reading a couple of hours a week at a public school to help marginalized kids learn to read. A simple but fulfilling task. These surrogate grand dads also teach kids how to pitch and play ball. Another staggering statistic, 85% of inner city kids have never played pitch and catch with their dads!
If you happen to be a gardener many cities are fostering urban garden co operatives. Inner city kids turn the soil, plant, harvest and learn how to cook healthy, fresh produce in their own neighbourhood. What could be more fun and fulfilling than puttering around a plot with young children and passing along your love of the earth and the hope of a healthy harvest?
The opportunities to bring hope and faith to inner city kids is limited only by your imagination.
With the all important “High School Prom” on the horizon, there are a number of volunteers who help collect and provide dress advice for youths heading to the prom. I know of one gentleman who has the gift of knowing how to “tie bow ties” which are part of the current fashion trend.
Best of all when you plant seeds of hope for inner city kids you are living your faith through social justice and building community. In my experience we have a multitude of stats relating to the number of people coping with poverty. But there are no concrete stats relating to the spiritual poverty within urban poverty communities.
As we transition into the warm, sunny summer months I hope you will take the time to consider sharing of your talents and giving the gift of hope through volunteerism to the excluded and isolated. One of the key results of poverty is isolation and exclusion from community. Help break that wall of exclusion through volunteerism.
Through sharing our faith, hope and encouragement we can transform our neighbourhoods into vibrant communities where everyone can have a dream and plant a seed for their future.
