When I was in college, one of my professors had us make a sign. We could decorate it however we wanted. All it had to say was “I make a difference”. Not “I can make a difference” or “I will make a difference” or any other additional words, no qualifiers allowed. Simply “I make a difference”.

In little communities like Owen-Withee, volunteers make a difference every day. There are those of us who volunteer to help with planting and weeding for Growin’ Owen. There are the volunteers who put together the Owen Fair. There are the volunteers who work the blood drives. There are the volunteers who coach youth sports. There are the volunteers on the fire department and ambulance crew, who are always in need of more volunteers. There are the people who volunteer to help at the Food Pantry. There are the people who volunteer to serve on city and village committees. There are the volunteers who belong to the Lions Club; you can’t go anywhere in Owen or Withee without seeing how the community benefits from what they do. There are many other opportunities to volunteer in our community and many organizations and groups that put in countless hours to make our community a better place for all of us.

Here are a few quotes about volunteers: Volunteers do not necessarily have the time, they just have the heart (Elizabeth Andrew). Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has (Margaret Mead). We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop (Mother Teresa). Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in (Author unknown). Volunteering is an act of heroism on a grand scale. And it matters profoundly. It does more than help people beat the odds; it changes the odds (President Bill Clinton). If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than a wishful thing, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever (Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General). Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless (Sherry Anderson).

Volunteers make the world go round, especially in small towns like ours where there isn’t always the money to pay for everything that needs doing. And as the quotes above show, volunteers have heart, they change the world, they are heroes, they are priceless. Volunteers make a difference.

So, thank you to all the volunteers in our community who work tirelessly to make Owen-Withee a better place. You may not always feel appreciated, but your efforts are noticed. For those of you who haven’t chosen to volunteer yet, find that thing you can feel passionate about and volunteer to help in our community. Remember, you can help to change our little corner of the world.