Greatness Within a Community

“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

With passion and smiling faces, twenty-two students of the Chilton ISD rose to greatness; they sorted produce into bags and set up tables with a myriad of fresh vegetables and fruits, including watermelons and root vegetables. With profound vigor and enthusiasm and guidance from Chilton ISD Superintendent Brandon Hubbard, volunteer Jan Smith of Marlin, event coordinators Myriam Virella, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Rosondra Hartsfield, Family and Community Health Extension Agent of Prairie View A&M University- Extension, these youths loaded the vegetables and fruits into drive-up vehicles at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 148 County Road 4014, Chilton, TX, on Thursday, November 12, 2025. They served 119 families, totaling 517 family members in less than two hours!

Helping others kindles happiness. “Nothing like this can happen without community support,” remarked Myriam Virella, CCHW Program Coordinator II, REACHing Well-Family and Community Health, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. “Thanks to [CISD Supt. Brandon Hubbard, CISD Lahoma Taylor, CISD Lakesha Black] and all the other volunteers for making… food distribution happen.”

In the Falls community, from the initial broadcasting of an event to benefit the community to its completion, volunteers’ valuable skills of compassion, an open mind, a willingness to do whatever is needed, and a positive attitude are key. They help build a more resilient and connected community, and, yes, volunteers kindle happiness while taking an active role in solving challenges.