Kinship

Volunteering at Unidos South OC is not about serving the less fortunate. That mindset separates and divides, reinforcing an "us versus them" mentality. It’s not about feeling good about oneself or finding purpose in the act of service alone. Here, volunteering is an invitation into kinship, a call to work with our community, not for it.
On Wednesday (earlier this month), Daryl and Melissa showed what this truly looks like. They weren’t doing something extraordinary or life-changing in the traditional sense. They sat on the porch, preparing flowers for our Día de los Muertos altar while the kids prepared their bread inside. They talked, sharing their stories of growing up as minorities in their communities—different generations, different experiences, finding common ground in conversation.
This is what it means to volunteer with us. It’s about stepping into the ordinary and relishing in it. It’s not about grand gestures but the quiet moments where we simply exist together. The joy is found not in doing but in being—in seeing one another, working alongside one another, and embracing the beautiful, shared mundane.