By Dona Jenkins
Volunteering is what we do to help others with their missions, causes and goals. Sometimes, just a set of helping hands works wonders for the giver and the receiver.
I started volunteering when I moved to Southwest Virginia years ago. Since then, I have learned that so much “work” is needed for many local organizations.
Among the organizations I volunteer with is the Virginia Synodical Women’s Organization (VSWO) of the Virginia Synod. They wanted to engage more women by being visible on the Internet. I told the VSWO Board that, to meet their goal, they would need a new website. I volunteered to create the website, joined the board, and am now the VSWO Conference Coordinator.
Part of this role involves contacting the 11 Conferences in our Synod and identifying leaders of each Conference. During my first year as VSWO CC, I contacted churches in each Conference to learn more about how they gathered in community.
Some women’s groups meet regularly. For example, some groups meet every month for lunch, fellowship, and service projects. Others incorporate multiple women’s groups in their Conference and plan Gatherings, an event for women of faith to join together for worship, Bible study, Love Offering gifts-giving, and more. Each conference leader submits a report of what their conference was involved with during the past year. The report is included in the Bulletin of Reports, which is published annually for the VSWO Convention. Stories of faith and fellowship with friends are often included in the reports. Join us at the next VSWO Convention!
The 2026 VSWO Convention is June 11 – 13 at St. John Lutheran Church in Abingdon, VA. This year attendees will have the opportunity to do some volunteering and work on service projects such as assembling solar lights and water purifiers in Thrivent Cause Kits, cleaning up the Creeper Trail at Taylor’s Shelter, a local memorial shelter built near the trail, meeting with other quilters for quilting conversations and ideas, helping at the local food pantry, Ecumenical Faith in Action (EFIA), sorting and organizing items, like putting together completed puzzles, to be sold at their thrift store.
Please join us if you can! We have a Sophie Wilson Grant for first-time non-voting women to cover the registration fee and 50% of your hotel reservation. You can find us at https://vswo.org/
Hope to see you there!
Dona Jenkins is the Virginia Synodical Women’s Organization Conference Coordinator.