Though  the acts might be small, all that you have to do is think big.

Every now and then, we hear about someone – a student, a teenager, a teacher, an old woman – who has made an amazing contribution to his or her community, whether it’s establishing an after-school program for needy children or starting an orphanage in a distant third-world country. I don’t know about you, but after I hear about these stories, I tend to imagine ways that I can emulate them, creating seemingly far-fetched plans to start a worldwide revolution. I’ve even, on some occasions, gone so far as to plan my Oprah interview.

Eventually, however, lethargy sets in, and I go back to seeing the world through my rose-colored glasses. Lately, though, I’ve started thinking about the small differences that we can make every day to improve our world.
Maybe it’s the various celebrities who have taken to driving hybrid cars, maybe it’s all of the charity propaganda strewn across billboards, or maybe it’s just me getting older, but after long interviews with myself, I have finally realized that you must take small steps to achieve a greater goal.

You might read this article and ponder it for a while, then get distracted again by the latest movie coming out or by who’s breaking up and who’s wearing what in Hollywood, but I hope that in the very least, for that small period of time after reading this, you will be infused with the desire to change the way we live.
Community service has always meant different things to different people. To a friend of mine, it meant spending 500 hours teaching at a school for underprivileged children; to a cousin of mine, it meant spending over a thousand hours at a hospital; but to the boy down the street from me, it meant spending the obligatory 50 hours at the library in hopes of impressing Stanford.

The problem with community service is that the majority of America’s youth today is so wrapped up in getting into college that we cynically view service as a way to promote ourselves. In an effort to discover those who are truly dedicated to helping others, I interviewed some amazing individuals who volunteer for Home of Hope, an organization that raises money for destitute orphans in India.

Home of Hope was founded in 1998 by Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, a San Francisco Bay area physician. The organization has 11 projects throughout India, helping orphans by contacting orphanages and establishing funds to aid the children. Home of Hope has helped over 1,500 children over the past nine years with help from others. These volunteers are kindhearted, hardworking, and, most surprisingly, all under the age of 20.

The philosopher­­­ Thomas Hobbs said that people are inherently evil, but how can we believe that those who truly want to help are not kind of heart? What drives people to lend a hand?
Amaraj Judge, 13, was driven because “I feel like I can make a difference and improve the lives of others.” Judge, an eighth grader at Quarry Lane School, has raised awareness by writing letters to others asking for money. He recently visited an orphanage that his donations helped established, and was “amazed by how much Home of Hope had done. We were able to provide computers and other utilities, and have improved their lives in many ways.”

What else can we do? Nisha Kalra, 16, has helped out by “starting donation boxes in UPS and convenient stores.” She enjoys charity work, as it has “made me feel better and more confident about myself, as I now know that I can help others and make a difference.”

Sonia Jesuja, 18, has assisted by making PowerPoint presentations and videos for the organization. She initially “didn’t know much about orphanages and Home of Hope, but hearing the stories behind each child was so inspiring.”
Most importantly, how can you get involved?
Jesuja, a senior at Castilleja High School, says, “I think that anybody can get involved in any way. The smallest thing can help. I’m just making a PowerPoint, but it’s helping to get funding. Even the smallest contribution can have a great impact.”

For other ways, Judge states that “the youth of today can get involved by checking out local charities or setting up fundraisers. Even lemonade stands and bake sales can make a difference.”
So there you have it. You don’t have to start your own charity or spend two years in Africa helping starving children. It doesn’t take earth-shattering acts or millions of dollars. Though the acts might be small, all that you have to do is think big.
To get involved in Home of Hope, visit www.hohinc.com.

(Sonia Aggarwal is a senior a Piedmont High School in Piedmont, Calif.)