There is a fantastic short story called the ‘Star Thrower’ by Lorne Eiserly. The essence of the story is that a young child is walking along a beach after a storm. The beach is littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed up during the night. As the child came to each starfish, they would pick it up, and throw it back into the sea. Bystanders watched the child with amusement for some time until a man called to the child, “Little child, Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”. For a moment the child seemed dejected but quickly they picked up another star fish and threw it as far into the waves as they could. Looking at the man who had called out, the child boldly announced, “Well, I made a difference for that one!” Within minutes, those around were inspired, and joined in throwing starfish back into the sea. 
It is an idealistic story about the impact that we all can have if individually we choose to do something to help rather than standing by and simply observing, or worse yet complain that nothing is being done. The bible has its own story of someone carrying out an act against the cultural norm that would impact on an individual life, you may know it as the story of the good Samaritan. If not have a look it is in Luke 10 starting at verse 25.
June 1 – June 6 is National Volunteers week. It is a week in which the UK celebrates volunteers and says thank you to them for the contribution that they make. The week also raises awareness about the benefits becoming a volunteer and the diverse volunteering roles that are available. As well as helping others, volunteering has been shown to have a positive impact on the lives of those who volunteer, assisting volunteers in gaining new skills and boosting self-esteem. There are many organisations in and around the village that rely on volunteers to help others. You could help develop Cherry Fields with the volunteers there or become a telephone befriender with Assist or volunteer with one of the national listening services like the Samaritans. Looking for something different? How about volunteering at the library or investing in young people through one of the uniformed organisations in the village? You may even want to do something you set up yourself or do alone, helping that lonely neighbour or picking up someone else’s rubbish from the hedgerows and verges. (Did you know you can borrow litter picking equipment form the Vine Centre?).
Whatever you may choose to do. Volunteering means you can boldly say, “I may not be able to do it all, but I made a difference!” Go on throw some starfish into the sea.
