The Heart of Giving

The Heart of Giving

April 19–25, 2026 is National Volunteer Week. This Sunday, we take time to celebrate the many volunteers who bring West Hill to life—and yes, that includes you.

Volunteering is often seen as something we add to our lives. But what if it sits at the very heart of what makes life meaningful? In this week’s reflection, we’ll explore how volunteering—or what I like to think of as everyday acts of care—connects us more deeply to one another and to ourselves.

Drawing on insights from The Power of Meaning, we’ll consider how belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence are not just ideas, but lived experiences that emerge when we choose to give. In doing so, we may discover that volunteering not only supports others—it also shapes, connects, and quietly transforms our own lives.

Coming soon… Watch the gathering here

READING

The Heart of Giving, by Martin Frith

We often think of volunteering as something we do—

an hour given, a task completed, a role fulfilled.

But perhaps it is something deeper.

A quiet recognition

that none of us arrive here alone,

and none of us continue alone.

To volunteer is to step into that truth—

to say: I will be part of the web that holds others.

Not because we must,

but because we can.

Not because we have extra time,

but because we have heart.

And in that giving,

something subtle happens—

the distance between “my life” and “our life”

begins to dissolve.