As Memorial Day stands as a holiday celebrating service, Junk King wants to reflect on the idea of what it means to serve a community.

As of this writing, our Cleaning Up America tour has already made at least four stops on its multi-city relay tour. While the tour promises a fun way for participants to clean up their neighborhoods and get more involved in their communities, its mission proves especially important over the Memorial Day weekend, a time when the country reflects and honors those who gave all they had in service to others.

The methods of service don’t begin with recycling and end with military service, however. Service can also mean volunteering at a neighborhood community center or helping ship supplies to other parts of the world. It could also mean volunteering as a coach for youth sports or working with families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

At first glance, service may seem to be only about putting in work to create something bigger than an individual can accomplish alone. But in another way, service can be a way to encourage growth. Individuals grow through the relaying of values and skills, thus helping a community grow by enriching the culture and support offered in the area’s homes, business, and organizations.

Growth also occurs by rising to meet a challenge, be it coming together for a community event or coming to understand an individual’s point of view. Growth can be difficult, even painful at times, but the results can lead to a better understanding of the world and the people who populate it.

Perhaps the hardest part of service starts with the decision to serve. Junk King encourages its associates to engage with the communities they serve, and invites further exploration into what it means to serve a community.