Everyone wants to be a part of a meaningful community. Everyone wants to contribute to that community in meaningful ways. This desire is not limited to people who have wealth and resources. It includes everyone. If you’re part of Patchwork’s daily activities and if you’re listening to the various people around our building, you can see this clearly.
We see it in the organic ways that people offer to assist with things around Patchwork. Generally, when someone sees a way that they can help out, they do. When there are chairs to pull out of boxes and move around the building, the people in Patchwork’s main room pause their coffee drinking and pitch in—whether they are interns, staff, volunteers, or other guests. When there is a new storage unit to assemble, people take a break to help figure it out.
The other day, a woman asked Shawn if there was something she could do to help out. Shawn knew of some projects and suggested that the woman could clean some windows and run the vacuum cleaner in some high-traffic areas. Afterward, the woman thanked Shawn for accepting her as a volunteer. She said she felt a lot better because she’d been able to do something that was productive and useful. She is one person among many.
This kind of help is never something that we ask for in return for the things we provide to our guests. This means that it is help that is offered out of a genuine desire to be of assistance. We do our best to make Patchwork a shared space, and people want to contribute to our space because it’s their space. It’s what community looks like.
Helping Hands
