Sometimes Supporting your children means Showing Up.

For four years while my children were in high school, I volunteered with the programs that were important to them: one year supporting the school band and three years supporting the theatre program. I sold tickets and concessions, served as an usher, cleaned up after events, helped organize potluck meals, and took on whatever other tasks were needed.

My motivation was personal. These were my children's activities, and I wanted to support the programs and the teachers, staff, and other volunteers who made those experiences possible. But I also wanted my children to see me giving my time to something that mattered to them.

Over the years, I came to appreciate how much happens behind the scenes of a school performance, concert, or activity. Programs like these depend upon a community of people willing to do the small jobs that allow students to have opportunities to perform, create, learn, and belong.

Perhaps most importantly, I wanted my children to understand something through my actions rather than my words. If something matters to the people you care about, show up. Give your time. Carry a box, sell a ticket, clean a room, serve a meal. Supporting a community does not always require doing something extraordinary. Sometimes it simply requires being there.