It’s been an unusual year for Community Service. Many members were not allowed to do their usual volunteer work due to Covid-19. But I’m sure many people increased financial contributions in a year that saw such need for food and various services during the pandemic.

Reporting Community Service for GSW, the number of reports received was down quite a bit, but the total value was not that far off from last year. For the year 2020, 135 members reported a total value of over $1,736,374. This compared to the previous year (2019), when 201 reports totaled $1,898,544, a difference of about 162 thousand dollars.

Again this year, urged on by President Flora Kernea, Magnolia Chapter topped the charts, with 26 members reporting monetary and volunteering totals of $488,821! We had MALs in three regions – South Central, Southeast andSouthwest – plus three chapters – Miami Valley, Inland Empire and Phoenix, each far surpassing $100,000!

Thank you, everyone who sent in Community Service reports.  One result of the Covid-19 pandemic seems that more people are expanding their generosity to help those impacted by donating to food shelves and other humanitarian efforts, and some are finding new ways to volunteer. We urge you to keep track of your contributions of cash, goods, volunteer hours and mileage (and blood donations for those who are still young enough), and plan to report them to GSW Community Service next year.

Carol DeVore
Director, Community Service
cldevore@protonmailcom 
320-217-5072, 320-217-1321 ©