The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘what are we doing for others?’” Can you answer that question confidently and without hesitation?

What are you doing in your neighborhood, in your community, your school or your job to make someone else’s day go better?

Today is “Join Hands Day” and it’s a day where both young people and adults come together and do helpful service projects to make a difference in their community. This is an opportunity for individuals to connect with volunteer organizations and make new relationships in the process.

With so many area organizations — Selma Charity League, The Red Cross and The Salvation Army, doing what they can to ensure members of the community are protected and provided for, it’s easy for individuals to reach out to these causes and help out wherever they see a need.

Do you like to sing? Why not volunteer to lead church services at The Salvation Army?

Do you like making arts and crafts? Why not visit the Selma-Dallas County Public Library’s children’s department during its many summer programs to assist youth in their projects?

If you’re healthy, why not donate some of your blood to the Red Cross to help those in need during times of disaster? Someone will appreciate the thoughtful gesture.

Help in your own neighborhood by cutting someone’s grass, washing someone’s car or reading a newspaper to the elderly. And if you like games, what about playing a nice game of bingo or Scrabble with a senior citizen at their home? I’m sure he or she will enjoy the company.

As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, volunteering is something that requires one to be unselfish. And as the old adage suggests, it IS better to give than to receive. In the end, you’ll be doubly blessed for putting others needs before yourself (Philippians 2:3-4).

When you leave the earth one day, what do you want people to remember most about you: your life’s accomplishments or what you did for others? Today, and in the months to come, lets carry out King’s mission of giving and servitude, and let’s rest in peace knowing we did all we could to make someone’s life worth living.