The Briggs family of the North Valley Ward, Albuquerque New Mexico North Stake, decided to make service a bigger priority this year — and through the JustServe platform they have found service projects that are not only helpful but also joyful.
“Our goal is to make small contributions that, over time, add up to something meaningful in our community,” Kristen Briggs said.
JustServe.org and the JustServe app have service opportunities that can be filtered by location, type, interest and more.
Through communications callings Briggs has held for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she came to understand the value of JustServe, not just for helping those in need but also for introducing people to the Church in a meaningful way.
Briggs has been advocating for more child-friendly JustServe projects to help families with young children get involved. She calls the platform an incredible resource and regularly shares it with organizations, schools and friends.
Briggs said she and her husband have always tried to do as much service as possible, and now their children, ages 9, 8 and 4, are a great age to participate.
“With that in mind, we committed to doing a service project every month in 2025,” she said. “It also helps that the Primary general presidency has encouraged us to make service a priority. As a newly called ward Primary president, I love sharing what we’re doing with the children in our Primary. I hope it inspires them to serve, just as Jesus did.”
In January, the Briggs family picked a JustServe project to make and deliver blankets for My Very Own Blanket, a nonprofit organization that serves children in foster care.
“The kids had so much fun picking out fleece and tying the edges, and some of our friends even joined in,” Briggs said. “Now, our friends’ ward is planning to do the same project.”
In February, the family delivered a homemade lasagna and visited with a wounded veteran through the nonprofit called Lasagna Love. In March, they picked up produce from local grocers to help distribute to those in need.
This month they plan to clean their elementary school for Earth Day, and next month they will work with the Albuquerque chapter of For Goodness Cakes, an organization that bakes birthday cakes for foster children. The chapter head is a friend of the family, and Briggs helped get the project added to the JustServe platform.
“Our children love serving. They haven’t complained once about the time or effort involved,” Briggs said. “My husband does an incredible job of helping them understand the impact of what we’re doing — how even small acts of service can uplift someone, even if just for a moment.”
Briggs said the number of opportunities on JustServe has grown immensely. Other families and Primary leaders can look on JustServe for national initiatives that can directly impact their local community, and get involved with ward and stake JustServe and communications directors who can give direction and help.
Serving with friends makes the experience even more special, Briggs said. “Whether it’s a weekend activity, a Sabbath-day home project, a family reunion or just time to fill, consider checking JustServe for a group project. We’re all striving to be more like Jesus, and JustServe helps us take one more step in that direction.”
