Amber Smith has a dream - a dream that every American will make acts of service as much a part of everyday life as eating.
That North Carolina ranks 44th in the nation in volunteerism especially bothers Smith, the founder of Activate Good, a Raleigh nonprofit that matches volunteers with the groups that need them. By county, Wake's volunteer rate trails Durham's by 10 points.
"We're the Capital City," said Smith, 28, who recently earned a master's degree in public administration and nonprofit management from N.C. State University. "We need to step up. Raleigh is No. 1 in all of these areas. We need to become No. 1 in community engagement."
On Monday, those who made it a goal to help others this year will have a chance to get started. Martin Luther King Jr. Day has been designated a day of service since 1994. Find out on Activate Good's website, activategood .org , where your hands are needed.
"We know people have a good heart for volunteerism here," said Smith, a Sanderson High School graduate who now lives in Durham. "There are many reasons that people don't get involved: a lack of time or a perceived lack of time. There are ways to get involved even on a busy schedule. We try to take away those obstacles."
The "we" are those at Activate Good, an organization that Smith and friend Heather Leah founded in 2005 under the name ME³ (motivate, educate, empower and engage).
A Kiwanis International volunteer at the time, Smith said her friends kept saying they'd love to know how to make a difference but had no idea how to get started. She also heard from nonprofits needing help.
"We were inspired to think of a way to close the gap, to connect those who wanted to get involved with those who needed them," Smith said. "On a personal level, we were in love with a ton of causes, and we didn't want to devote ourselves to one. We thought promoting volunteering could help all the causes at once."
But first, Smith and Leah studied volunteerism across the nation, going on a 2.5-month odyssey during which they perpetrated random acts of kindness in numerous cities.
"We were in Seattle, and it was gloomy and rainy as it often is, and people were looking very dour," Smith said. "We thought it'd be fun to write 'smile' on neon green signs and walk around. By the end of it, we had merchants holding up signs, bus drivers put it in their windshields. It was a very simple, random act that was insanely fun that had a variety of effects we didn't expect."
'Stuff bothered me'
Smith, reared by a single mother, has always had a heart for others. She and her mom, both singers, put on several holiday concerts at retirement centers last month.
"Stuff bothered me," she said, remembering her childhood. "Animal abuse. Homelessness. And I had this energy I didn't know what to do with.
"My mother was proactive and told me, 'If you want something, you work to go get it,' " she said. "I felt like I could do something if I wanted to. I was fortunate to have friends who felt the same way."
Working with businesses
Smith is not paid for her work at Activate Good, which runs mostly on money raised through the annual Couture for a Cause. The organization has about 400 volunteers signed up on its website and more than 80 nonprofit partners.
"We are not a passive online resource," Smith said. "We do outreach for nonprofits, which is especially needed with harder-to-fill volunteer opportunities."
Activate Good also works with corporations that want their employees to volunteer. Last year, GlaxoSmithKline sought help finding nonprofits where its workers could volunteer in groups and build teams.
"Volunteerism is my favorite cause because it touches all of the others," Smith said.
As Dr. King himself said: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?"
If only we all could answer as easily as Smith can.
