Admit it - your brain is already goin’ there. You’re counting down the days to the end of the school year and daydreaming about how you’ll spend your good ‘ol summer time.
Will you be traveling this summer? Or just hanging out spending time with family and friends? Maybe you’re working and trying to save some money. Or maybe you’re going to sports camp or a leadership institute?
Or maybe you’re part of a growing number of US teens who turn their summers into an opportunity to change lives – their own and others - through service and social action.
Jump In with Both Feet
Service and social action are often referred to as the “two feet” of social justice. Direct service strives to meet the immediate needs a person may have – food, clothing, adequate shelter. In contrast, social action wants to know why and works to promote changes that allow people to meet their own needs effectively. While both service and social action are good things on their own, both are necessary for lasting change.
It’s Not About “Just Us”
A commitment to social justice means a commitment to something bigger than ourselves. For some young people, than means making a civic commitment to our communities or our country. That’s one of the reasons that so many school districts have service learning requirements for graduation.
But for many young people, it’s a response to the call of faith. Christians teach service and respond to the Biblical call to do for “the least of these.” Judaism teaches tikkun olam, or repairing the world through action and reflection. And Islam calls for zakat, charitable giving, and jihad, holy struggle.
We’re all part of something bigger.
Taking the First Step…and the Second
Thinking about changing your summer plans? If you want to ride the wave of young people committed to change the world one person and one summer at a time, where do you start? Maybe direct service is new to you. Find an opportunity to serve in a program that meets people’s immediate needs: a soup kitchen, a clothing distribution center, or a workcamp that repairs or rehabs housing.
If you’ve been doing direct service for awhile, but haven’t taken that next step of social action, consider what you can do to address the “whys.” Maybe you can work at an adult literacy program teaching people to read and write so they can fill out job applications. Or you can help to educate the community about how they can “green” their little corner of the world.
Social justice is about righting wrongs, keeping balance, and restoring right relationship. What do you say we get it right this summer?
Steps In the Right Direction: A Directory of Social Justice Opportunities