Together we make a difference: Compassion Week 2024
Twelve years ago, the Los Altos United Methodist Church organized a weekend of community service, encouraging members to put their faith into action beyond their congregation.
Now known as Compassion Week — coming Sept. 21-29 — the event has blossomed into a 9-day multi-faith collaboration that mobilizes more than 3,500 volunteers, engaging them in service projects throughout the South Bay and beyond.
Just last year, people of all ages volunteered an astounding 23,000 hours with organizations dedicated to meeting basic needs in the areas of education, economic insecurity, environmental justice, food insecurity, health, housing, incarceration, and veteran support.
Volunteers contributed to an inspiring array of projects, including: cleaning beaches; preparing hot meals for shelter and RV dwellers; creating fleece blankets, hats, and scarves; writing notes of encouragement to homeless youth; and, packing all manner of kits — science materials for low-income students, care supplies for the incarcerated, hygiene products for the unhoused, and activity materials for seniors.
My Supervisorial district — District Five — and the good work of Compassion Week have a significant overlap. But what I love about Compassion Week is that artificial boundaries like electoral maps get swept away. It’s a grassroots effort to get people involved in community, for community, in a different way.
This will be the third year our office has been a Compassion Week co-sponsor. One of the many reasons my staff and I find it deeply worthwhile is that while volunteering on a project — last year we helped clean and sanitize the Community Services Agency’s food and nutrition center in Mountain View — we learn even more about the people we serve.
Compassion Week provides more awareness and understanding of the needs around us, and is a wonderful opportunity for individuals, families, and groups to engage in acts of service — while forging connections and spreading kindness.
It’s not uncommon for people in the community to look around with concern, maybe even despair, and wonder if it’s worth their time to engage. Can one person possibly have an impact?
The answer is: Yes. The need is great, but so is our combined ability to help. And the best way to find hope is to give some.
If you’re new to Compassion Week, I can say whole-heartedly that it’s the way each of us can do our part to make both our immediate and our larger world a better place. We can’t solve all the problems, but each of us can take a little piece and make the lives of our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues a bit better. We can also help build a stronger sense of connection and community, something I think we all missed during those long pandemic years.
The real beauty is that Compassion Week is not just about the one week. It’s about taking the week to focus on opportunities for engagement in activities that really can — and I hope will — be undertaken year-round. It’s a week that helps translate passion and compassion into longer term action by all of us.
This year, with over 150 projects to choose from, there’s something inspiring, fun, and convenient for everyone to contribute. In-person and remote volunteer opportunities are available throughout the week across Santa Clara County and in South San Mateo County. Find something that sparks your passion and register at: compassionweeklosaltos.org.
Join us to volunteer and build a stronger, more empathetic world. Together we can make a difference, helping build community in a way that’s lasting and real. I mean that. Hope to see you there.
Joe Simitian
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Article originally published in Los Gatos Living and Saratoga Spotlight magazines.