Tri-State Service Foundation

Difference Maker:

Tri-State Service Foundation

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” –Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi said it best.

The Tri-State Service Foundation (TSSF) was created out of the simple need, the simple want, that at the end of the day, we can find ourselves by helping others. And it has been an interesting journey.

When we first thought about the idea of service, the easiest thing that came to mind was raising money. We quickly realized, however, that was not the answer. After all, there are 1.8 million non-profits in the United States, and every single one of them is doing exactly that, asking everyone for hard-earned money. Don’t get us wrong, we know very well that, at times, money is what’s needed; money can solve a lot of problems.  We didn’t want to add one more to that number.

Time. Time is what we are after. Yes, it is our greatest commodity. We have only 24 hours in a day and 8,760 hours in a year. We have families, jobs, hobbies, and sleep, all asking for our time. It is because it’s the one thing we cannot stop, the one thing we have a finite number of, that it is the greatest thing you can give someone.

At the TSSF, we aim to raise awareness about service and helping each other, not with money but with our time. By creating events for people to volunteer at, sharing information and events by other non-profits, and bringing the discussion to the forefront, we hope people understand that helping each other is the right thing to do.

One such event is the National Month of Service in October of this year. We are asking business owners and organization presidents to give two hours or more of their time and go out into their communities to give back. Ask their employees, bring their families, and show our children how a helping hand can go a long way. And so far, we’ve had great success. Twenty-five businesses, plus another twenty families, have pledged their support, and the list will keep growing.

But we are not stopping there. We have also started the “Our Children Say Hello!” Campaign, where we ask a local elementary school to have their students write messages and create cards. We will send them to a Children’s hospital in the nation, helping our children understand that a card, a simple message, can lift the spirits of a complete stranger while getting nothing in return—just a gesture to make someone smile.

These are just two examples of what we are about. We don’t accept donations of money, and you won’t receive emails from us asking for money. What we want is your time.

And we promise you, you will find yourself in the process.