As we approach this season of Thanksgiving, I find myself more and more grateful for the many people who contribute to our community without fanfare, and often without any acknowledgement at all. Throughout my time of service as Mayor for Tucker, I have had many residents ask how they can get involved and help the City. Many are interested in an appointment to a Board or Commission, and that is a great way to serve, but there are so many more opportunities within the community as well. While elected officials and members of boards and commissions make decisions about policy and spending by the city government, there are many people making an even bigger impact on our quality of life through serving in other ways. They truly make Tucker the warm and welcoming City that we are.
To promote and help get more of the community involved, the city maintains a volunteer webpage with a list and contact information for many of our volunteer groups. By no means is this exhaustive but it is a great place to start and to find your interests. The Tucker Civic Association has been around for decades in one iteration or another and interestingly many of the other organization started as subcommittees of TCA, including all the Friends of Parks groups, Tucker Business Association, the Historical Society, and the Tucker Lifelong Community Committee. We have volunteer-led, running, walking, biking and even pottery groups. We have a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity right downtown.
We have a great partner in the NETworks Cooperative for our neighbors in need of a hand up in escaping poverty. If you love the outdoors, then one of the Friends of Tucker Parks groups might be a good fit for you with trailblazing and park clean up days (we also rely on them for input in parks planning and improvements). Our Rotary, Optimist and Lions clubs are flourishing and incredibly supportive of our local community as well as serving needs nationally and internationally. If you’re interested in performing or visual arts, Tucker has that too! We have our very own Main Street Theatre and Community Art Tucker, and we’re about to begin a pilot public art program.
And please check with your local church. They give of themselves through their own service projects, youth programs and holiday celebrations. Above all, they do the indispensable work of loving our neighbors and caring for those with all kinds of needs in time of grief and loss and daily struggle by reminding us all of the hope we can have in a future bigger and brighter than ourselves.
There is a group for whatever fills your heart and drives your need to help, and all of them would welcome you. While I do not think such opportunities are unique to Tucker, I do know that the breadth of opportunity and our citizen leaders do make us unique. There have been surveys published that show Tucker to be at 2-3 times the average rate of volunteerism in Metro Atlanta. Our citizens and leaders are a blessing to this community, and beyond. I challenge and invite you to find an organization that suits you. It doesn’t have to be a full-time job, it doesn’t have to be a weekly commitment, it can be as little or as much as you can add to your life. As mentioned above our website is full of really great and helpful information about our City and there is a dedicated page for volunteer groups. Click around and learn more about how you can help. Visit tuckerga.gov, click on Community then click on Volunteer. Serving this community has been one of my greatest joys and I invite you to join me. Please consider expressing your gratitude by giving back through one of these many opportunities - You’ll make a much bigger difference than you might imagine!
