Volunteering isn't a must-do ritual because gestures from the heart may be spontaneous or planned, but they're always genuine. Acts of service have to be because they matter so much to people. Authentic service doesn't sound mechanical like "I volunteer on Thursdays," but instead resonates with a passion for serving. Volunteers who get a kick out of what they do may say "I've learned so much from five high school students. I'm supposed to be their mentor and teach them, but they teach me something every time we meet."

Artifice and condescension don't accompany these volunteers. What does is the hope that their service delivers what's needed for the people they serve. Of course there are many reasons to volunteer, but here are five to consider:

1. Volunteering is a form of leadership that supports your neighborhood and the leaders and communities around you.
2. Volunteering can transform someone's life.
3. Volunteering provides an opportunity to give positively to society, not negatively.
4. Volunteering provides a feeling of personal contribution that is focused on seeing others thrive, lead and succeed.
5. Volunteering helps bears the burdens of others -- part of a mutually beneficial cycle where people give and receive help. (Galatians 6:2)

Mother Teresa said this about volunteering: "Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go." And Booker T. Washington once said pointedly about service: "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else."

During the Transform Dallas Citywide Workday, more than 250 projects will be offered for volunteers to share time with fellow human beings -- the young, the old, the single, the married, the homeowner, the renter, the business owner, the employee, the retiree, the long-time resident or the newly arrived refugee.

Does volunteering at Transform Dallas interest you? We can promise you that whatever the service, volunteering can create relationships and memories you'll never forget.