Serving Stories – Serve the City International

When Wonder Woman was told it was impossible to cross No-Man's-Land, she said, "But I'M going to do it!" Today we meet some wonder women from Serve the City Australia, who are persisting in starting a volunteer movement in their cities, despite obstacles. They want to encourage you too to just keep on going!

Serving SHORT Stories are mini-episodes that you can devour quickly and share with others! In this episode, Ingeborg from STC Maastricht in the Netherlands shares a story of hope that started with just making a hand-lettered card.

Every superhero has to contend with supervillains who menace their city. As volunteers, we too must stand up to villains such as poverty and instability, fighting them with kindness rather than force. In this episode, STC Kenya leaders tell us how they are standing against the villains of gender-based violence, destitution, and ignorance in their cities.

First Serving Short Stories episode! Carlton Deal, Serve the City founder, tells how a setback on the very first STC event turned into a catalyst that started the movement.

"Every superhero has to go through a moment when they have to examine and choose. Will they choose a path that Will I choose a path that follows my own desires, or will I choose to live a life that serves and helps others around me?"

This moment of choice for a superhero is known as their ORIGIN STORY. For volunteers who choose to serve their city, their origin story is also an important part of the motivation that sends them out to serve. In this episode, we talk to STC founder, Carlton Deal, and three of his friends to find out what in their story compels them to serve.

Loneliness is one of the top mental health issues in cities—one touching people of all ages and backgrounds. Serve the City Maastricht, responding to their city's crisis of loneliness with hope, has introduced the Noah Friendship Platform. The team matches individuals with potential friends based on common interest and personalities, and host events where new connections are the goal. Whether you cherish a love for cats or an interest in sword fighting, there is hope for a friend to share it!

Who doesn't hope to be seen for their talents rather than their limitations? When four teenage girls from Amsterdam embark on a voyage of volunteering, they overcome the perceptions of themselves as "learning-disabled" and demonstrate abilities that inspire hope in all of us. And when a group of physically-disabled people in Kosovo step up to lead volunteer projects, we see that those we often perceive as beneficiaries have enormous potential to inspire others as they contribute to their community.

There's a line in every city that separates... and in Mitrovica, Kosovo, that line is a bridge. Serbs stay on one side and ethnic Albanians on the other—unless they just happen to be volunteering together with Serve the City, crossing the line with love.

Volunteers at a Big Volunteer Weekend in Mitrovica tell us about what loving across the line means for them. And they also put it into action by crossing the line into the Roma community, building relationships for good with a widely marginalized people group. Love knows no boundaries!

A Big Volunteer Day gives the chance to spread love around a city! Every month, Serve the City Peninsula volunteers further multiple projects in a disadvantaged community in Newport News, VA, in the USA.

As we accompany them on projects ranging from Bingo with the elderly, to Valentines for families facing hardship, to building a greenhouse for an urban farm, we discover how persistent love builds trust and community between people of every age, race and background.

The two most multicultural cities in the world are Brussels and Dubai (Belgium, UAE). People move there dreaming of opportunity... but what happens if opportunities fail to materialize, or when it is time to go back? Meet Marie and Karen, two ladies who help other women find the courage to dream new dreams in these cities... and also one more who has succeeded in making her dream come true.

Marie Bennett relates how a Serve the City partnership in Brussels helps migrant women vulnerable to exploitation find courage to envision a new future in employment through volunteer experience. And Karen Ramirez Marine describes how Serve the City Emirates partners with the Sri Lankan Consulate to upskill women returning to their country after serving as guest workers in Dubai. You will be inspired by their courage... and that of the women they work with.