Sean Dengler.

Monday, Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Besides being a day off for schools and federal and state employees, the most significant part of this day is to volunteer. Use this day as a chance to serve the community. Serving one’s community by volunteering is essential to creating a healthy society. If there is not an organization which fits your volunteer interests, do it yourself.

It can be picking up trash around the neighborhood. Whatever you do to volunteer is important. One positive action can lead to another one. Compounding these actions creates better outcomes in the future. The future is what our societies live for. Do something and be an example. As I saw my family volunteer as I grew up, it made me want to volunteer.

As Americans, we are more than consumers. Americans are citizens. Citizens are meant to serve those around them. It is our role to help make the world a better place. By volunteering, it creates a better community atmosphere. This leads to better societal outcomes.

Pick anything to do. Wherever you see the need in your community, it is time to fill the need. Work is always needed to be done and be the person to help with this work. Being a volunteer is easy. You have control over how often you volunteer. No one is making you volunteer more than you want to. Volunteering once a month is good enough.

The world is a tough place. Any level of support one can provide for society is valuable. No one is coming to save us besides ourselves. Volunteering gives a sense of fulfillment. It also is a way to meet like-minded people in our communities. This leads to those strong connective bonds societies thrive upon.

Humans are social creatures, and volunteering builds these social networks. It is vital for humans to stick together by volunteering to help improve their communities. Many opportunities exist on how to volunteer. While it might feel volunteering is at odds with the larger, consumer centric system our society resides in, push this struggle and volunteer. Our society depends on people caring for where they live. Societies are meant to work together, and nothing is better than human ingenuity. It is on us to improve our lives.

Go out and volunteer on Monday. If not then, find a cause or organization which fits your interest and start helping at a time convenient for you. Please give at least one hour to volunteering. Maybe the volunteer bug will hook you. No one else is going to step up if you do not step up first. Everyone is looking for the next great volunteer to walk through the door. Go be that volunteer.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.