September 17, 2026 Submitted By Rory Earley, Founder of South Shore Youth Volunteers (Photos Provided)
We spend so much time thinking about what we can give our children, when sometimes the most important thing we can teach them is how to give to someone else.
I come from two incredibly hardworking parents, a lobsterman and a small business owner, who themselves came from humble roots. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but my parents taught us something that has proven far more valuable: you show up for people. They taught us the importance of respect, of being a genuinely good person and, perhaps most importantly, of being there when someone needed you.
That idea of “showing up” has guided so much of my life. I show up for my family, and I try to show up for my community. Over the years, I’ve immersed myself in organizations and groups throughout Hingham and the South Shore, including the Center for Active Living, the Hingham Farmers Market, the Hingham Council on Aging, Interfaith Social Services and the Parents Association at Boston College High School. The running joke in our house is my husband’s frequent refrain, “Could you maybe try to get a job that pays money?”
The truth is, I get tremendous joy from this work. I love the relationships that form and the opportunity to work directly with the people these organizations serve. Volunteering has given me far more than I could ever give back.
Several years ago, my husband and I made a conscious decision to start bringing our children along with us. One of the first ways we did that was by delivering dinners every few months to Father Bill’s. Rather than simply dropping off the food ourselves, we had the kids carry it into the kitchen. We explained what Father Bill’s does, who the organization serves and why it is important for families like ours to support places like it.
I will never forget one particular car ride home. The kids suddenly realized that the people who would be eating the pizzas we had just delivered did not necessarily have homes to return to or warm beds waiting for them that night. You could almost see the realization happening.
It was a small moment, but it had an enormous impact on me as a parent. I realized then that I would do everything in my power to make sure my children understood how important it is to give back. Not because they need volunteer hours for school or because community service looks good on an application, but because understanding how other people live and recognizing that you have the ability to make someone else’s day, circumstances or life a little better is part of becoming a good human being.
That belief ultimately led me to create South Shore Youth Volunteers, a Facebook group designed to make it easier for young people and families to find meaningful ways to give back in their communities. The group is a place where local organizations can share opportunities for young volunteers and where parents and kids can discover ways to get involved that they may never have known existed.
My hope is simple: to make the connection between kids and community service a little easier to navigate and, in doing so, give more young people the chance to experience the joy that comes from showing up for someone else.
My parents taught me the importance of showing up. I hope to pass that lesson along to my own children and, through South Shore Youth Volunteers, help more young people discover just how much showing up can matter. If you are a local business or organization looking to create meaningful opportunities for young people to serve, or a parent hoping to get your child more involved in the community, I invite you to join us.
Visit the South Shore Youth Volunteers Facebook group, share an idea, post an opportunity, or simply see what is happening. Together, we can create something truly special and help raise a generation that understands the importance of showing up for others.
*South Shore Youth Volunteers can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/share/19QwF145Ge/?mibextid=wwXIfr