Implementing JustServe.org in Your Area | An Interview with Autumn Stringam

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Autumn Stringam is from Alberta, Canada, and now lives in Nampa, Idaho. She and her husband are the parents of five children and have two grandchildren. She grew up with a community-minded mindset, and works in mental health nutrition and at a special-needs high school. Autumn was called as a JustServe specialist when the program was beginning in her community, and took that opportunity to help grow a thriving program in the Treasure Valley area.

Highlights

7:15 Autumn’s call as a JustServe specialist for the area’s coordinating council 9:45 What is JustServe? A website intended as a tool to minister with others within the community, managed through the stakes and coordinating councils 11:30 Agreement to serve together and just to serve together 13:45 Anyone can post and manage sites—members and nonmembers 14:30 Stake public affairs specialist, JustServe specialist, and a committee work with the stake high council and sometimes a stake youth council to develop the program in their area 16:25 Groups and individuals can go to the app, sign up, and go serve 17:20 JustServe manuals are in the gospel library 18:00 The JustServe specialist’s responsibilities 19:05 Relief Society has taken over leading Church members within the program so the specialists can reach into the community 20:00 Every area needs to get entrepreneurial and figure out how to best use the program in their area 21:20 How Autumn applied the program through the youth program 24:25 How to keep it focused on service only: finding common ground and getting acquainted 28:35 Advertising goodness: experience with LGBT youth 33:25 How to combat the fear among others, such as schools, that this is a church-related organization 36:00 The overwhelm of “another thing”: take a step back and see how this helps fulfill every part 37:30 Take the challenge and the Lord will not fail us: Her experience with the “pick a date” program and how this is the model for our time 42:25 Overcoming obstacles with other organizations in the community: the program is funded by the Church but it isn’t owned by the Church 45:00 Have a full inventory of opportunities before you recruit volunteers 46:05 Look at zip code 83606 at JustServe.org for examples 47:10 The momentum will come 49:10 Using social media to advertise and promote service opportunities 53:20 Using the app and website 54:20 Campaigns for volunteers: “JustServe January” “JustServe Summer” 57:30 Start with one campaign, without the expectation of immediate results 59:35 Familiarize yourself with what is already happening out there; we are advertising what others are already doing, so plug in and then let them shine 1:01:15 How JustServe led to finding and adopting their daughter