Last Updated on August 15, 2024
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Bh-SSYCfg&feature=youtu.be
Have you ever observed a need and thought to yourself… “Someone should do that…”? Maybe YOU are the someone. In this video, above Tracey talks with Stephanie Buckley about how she started a Farmer’s Market and a library in her small community.
—
Tracey: So I love to be able to help my children understand how to give into the lives of others and I’m guessing you do too. So is there a way of that you and your family have served someone either in
your community or at your church or maybe friends? Help give me an idea of just something that moms can do to connect a family together as they serve someone else.
Stephanie: Well I believe that that we should leave wherever we are a better place. And we’re blessed to live on Arkansas state parks and so at our previous park where we just moved from, I was growing vegetables and had way too many. And all the people were closing the blinds when I came to bring them zucchini. So I decided to start a farmers market. I thought how great would it be for my little boys to have chickens, sell eggs and learn to give back to their community?
So every Saturday morning we did this, but also there’s learning, you know have some good school lessons on math and hard work which I really like. So we did that, and then we found, and this is kind of a rural community, that there were children getting off the school bus out there that didn’t ever get to go to a library. And we take those kind of things for granted. So The old firehouse in our town said we could use it.
So I made a library in our town and people just donated books and so we said, come grab a book keep it as long as you want and bring it back. And my little boys were there the whole time. They helped me sand the bookcases, they helped check books out. And so that they actually got to interact with the people that were there, which I think is very important for children to interact with people of all ages. So it was great social skills for them and hard work and it’s pretty good stuff.
Tracey: Wow, you’re my hero because you observed a need and you taught your children to observe a need and so here in two different areas produce for people as well as library books for people. I’m inspired and I hope you inspire other moms to go start a farmers market or whatever in their area.
If you see something that’s needed instead of saying, “You know what, somebody should do that”, MAYBE you should do that.
Stephanie: Right you should! That’s right. Thanks so much for having me.
It was such a please to sit down with Stephanie Buckley to talk about serving with your family. There’s some great ideas and takeaways here that I know you will love!
Looking for ways that you and your family can serve and make a difference in your community? Here are a few articles and ideas to get you started!
The Serve Others Countdown to Christmas
Nursing Home Week: An Opportunity to Serve
This is a tough one for me. I had to think about it for a long time and felt sad to come up with very few service projects that we do as a family. With a severely autistic child, we don’t venture out to the unknown much. My daughter doesn’t run away from us as much as she used to, but each little noise or smell could set Rachel off. We do participate in Operation Christmas Child. Last year we even managed going to the store together and buying the gifts. It was difficult for Rachel to understand why she couldn’t open the packages and why we put them into a box. I think she unpacked the boxes several times, so we had to hide them and sneak them into the church to donate them to keep her from obsessing over the entire thing. It’s something small, but it’s a baby step toward more, hopefully.
Isn’t Stephanie Buckley the best? She makes me smile so big 🙂
As a family, we haven’t yet ventured out into any “big” service projects, but it’s hard with our kids being small. We have done Operation Christmas Child, World Vision Sponsorship, and Champions for Kids Simple Service Projects. I’m hoping soon they’ll be old enough for us to help at a shelter or soup kitchen. Oh and I want us to visit a nursing home soon!
Thanks for the inspiration Stephanie!!
Great Job! Way to be a go getter:) My children are still little- but we are working on “Building Community Right Where You Are”.