‘Showing up matters.’

Melinda Mosier, an AmeriCorps alumna and Charitable Foundation vice president for philanthropy, delivered the City Year “Opening Day” keynote address at Hillside Middle School in Manchester as City Year volunteers embarked on their year of service.

Good morning.

One of the things I love about an Opening Day is that right now, you don’t know what this year is going to become.

At about a month in, you know where you’re serving. You know who you’ll be working with. But you might not have figured out which student is going to stay with you long after this year is over. You don’t know which days you’ll go home exhausted and wonder whether you made any difference at all. And you probably don’t yet know how much this year is going to change you.

Way, way back in the olden days, last century, in 1995, I became an AmeriCorps volunteer in Arizona. I was 20 years old, 2,000 miles from home, and trying to figure out who I was after losing my mother just a few months earlier.

Every day, I showed up at Mt. Elden middle school in Flagstaff to work with Native American and ESL students. I tutored, helped with homework, and tried to build relationships with kids who often had very little interest in making my life easy.

There were plenty of days when I wondered whether I was making any difference at all.

And then there were what I think of as the clam-shell kids.

The kids who keep themselves tightly closed. Or use sarcasm and humor as shields. The ones who tell the world, don’t get too close. I know kids like that because I was one of them.

But every once in a while, the shell would open just a little. They would ask a question. Share something about their day. Let me sit with them while they worked.

One of those kids was Gilbert. Gilbert was curious, thoughtful, and determined. He was being raised alongside his cousins by his grandmother on the Navajo nation, and despite a long commute to school and significant barriers at home that made it difficult to complete his homework, he showed up every day ready to learn.

One afternoon, as he finished a worksheet, I told him, “You did a great job. I don’t think you needed my help at all.”

He looked at me and quietly said, “Maybe. But if you didn’t sit with me, I wouldn’t do it.”

Then he smiled.

In that moment, I realized the assignment was never the point. Gilbert already had the ability to do the work. What he needed was someone who believed in him, someone he could trust. That conversation was the beginning of many moments in which he chose to let me into his world and gradually share more of who he was.

And in those moments, I realized something important.

Impact is not always dramatic.

Sometimes impact looks like sitting beside a student who doesn’t want to talk. It looks like explaining the same math problem for the fourth time. It looks like remembering something important in their life like grandma being sick. It looks like showing up.

You may not always know the difference you’re making. Keep doing the work anyway.

Because one of the most important lessons I learned during my terms of service is that showing up matters.

I also learned that I was going to be helped as much as I was helping.

I began that year thinking I was there to help students. And I did. But those students helped me, too. Service introduced me to people, communities, challenges, and possibilities I never would have encountered otherwise – which made smarter, and more empathetic and more determined to do my part in making the world a better place. Let this year teach you.

Pay attention to what energizes you. Pay attention to what breaks your heart. Pay attention to the moments when you think, I could do this for the rest of my life. And pay attention to the moments when you think, I never want to do this again.

And don’t be afraid of being uncomfortable. Growth often feels exactly like that. At the same time, don’t confuse exhaustion with dedication.

This year will ask a lot of you. Take care of yourself. Eat. Sleep. Laugh. Ask for help when you need it.

The young people you serve don’t need a perfect version of you. They need a present one.

And don’t try to do this year alone. Lean on the people around you. Some of the most important relationships in my life began during my service year. Some of the people I met are still the first people I call when I need advice, encouragement, or someone to celebrate good news with. At the time, we were just trying to get through a demanding experience together. We didn’t know we were building lifelong friendships.

Today, I work at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation – where much of our work is about making things better for young people.  I work with generous people who care deeply about young people, educational opportunity, and strong communities. I also have the privilege of helping steward some of the charitable foundation’s investment in programs like city year.

When donors choose to invest in City Year, they’re investing in you. They’re investing in making sure young people feel seen, encouraged, and supported. They’re investing in the idea that a caring adult (that’s you!) Showing up consistently can help change the trajectory of a young person’s life.

At the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, our purpose is to make New Hampshire a community where everyone can thrive. At its heart is a simple idea: our futures are tied together, individual outcomes are shaped by collective conditions and none of us succeeds alone. Strong communities are built when people show up for one another.

That’s exactly what you are doing.

So as we kick off the year at Opening Day, I hope you to remember three things:

First, show up. Even when you aren’t sure you’re making a difference. Especially then. Your presence matters more than you may ever know.

Second, let yourself be changed. Your students, your teammates, and this community have something to teach you.

Third, take care of the person who is doing the serving. You.

Thirty years after my Corps service, I can still remember gilbert and the other clam-shell kids. I remember recognizing that my presence, as humble as that was, invited them to open their shells just a little.

And when one of those clam-shell kids opens up just a little, pay attention.

Because sometimes that’s where the real change begins. For them and for you.

It is a true privilege to welcome you to your year of service on opening day. Thank you for choosing to serve and may you have a remarkable year!