Grateful to Be Here!

[Angela]

Summer has just begun in Buffalo, New York, and all of us are taking some much-needed vacation time away from new jobs and busy school years. Our family is traveling this week, and this is giving us time to chat about what we've done to be of service to others during the last school year and what we can do in the months ahead, while we are off. Laura was very excited to see this space begin to grow this year, and I have been as well.

One of the greatest outcomes of keeping her service blog was watching how it inspired others to do similar things. This ning is one of the best examples of that. One of the unexpected outcomes that has been less comfortable for all of us has been the level of attention that she's received for her work. It's a whole new world....and while Laura assumed it would be her small circle of family of friends keeping up with her work online, her readership quickly grew and grew and this has prompted a lot of learning and provided our family much to think about and consider. Particularly Laura. So, while we've been working hard to give back in a number of ways this spring (and I'll let Laura post about that on behalf of our family), we've been keeping a lower profile about it all online, eager to see this community begin to take root and looking forward to seeing how others are helping to make this world a better place before jumping into the fold. This is such an inspiring place to be, and I can't thank Jenny enough for inviting Laura and I to be here. In many ways, it has solved a dilemma that Laura was facing--she has wanted to maintain an online presence, but as I said, we've all been eager to have her doing and sharing this work within a larger community.

We're looking forward to participating more in the coming months by sharing all that we've been up to as a family and where we plan to focus our service efforts next. Thank you, Jenny! You know, Laura started her blog during a particularly difficult time in her life. Her grandfather had just passed away, and although she didn't blog about any of this...she lost all of her grandparents and her aunt within the year that followed. I can honestly say that focusing on being of service to others brought much joy to her life and to us during that time, and the connections that we've made to others as a result of giving of ourselves helped us to feel less alone and hopeful about the future. I hope you are experiencing a bit of this as well. Thank you again for making room for us here. It means the world to us (no pun intended) : )

[Jenny Luca]

I am so pleased this space is fulfilling a function for all of us who habitate this corner of the web. It has been inspiring to see the space grow and make connections with educators from many parts of the world who are interested in how service learning can benefit the students they teach. I have been very encouraged to see students join the space. I think it is a welcoming and supportive environment that can assist students to share what they do and as a consequence, help them forge a positive digital profile for themselves.

We are grateful to have you here! Enjoy your travels over the next week. What a pity I didn't get to Washington; it would have been wonderful to meet face to face. I am certain that will happen one day.

[NinaD]

Laura is certainly special and I think that she is destined to do something 'big' with her life. I've talked about Laura as if I know her, read her blog and have found that young 'kids' relate! It's wonderful to see 'good come from bad' and I agree focusing on others helps. Thanks for sharing & it's a really lovely post! Cheers Nina