Young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints learn early on in life what it means to lend a hand of service, a key element in a program designed for girls ages 12 to 18.
Rachel Anderson, a Mormon living in Duham, North Carolina, explains that her desire to serve “is not a trait I would have if I didn’t have the lessons and opportunities in my youth. Exposure to service in my youth helped me to not be afraid to jump in and help.”
Anderson, now 32 years old, can still remember one of her first service projects as a teen in her hometown of El Paso, Texas.
“I learned how to sew and made a lot of quilts for the Child Crisis Center in El Paso,” Anderson recounts. “It felt wonderful to have an opportunity to give to those who had less than I did.”
Since that first quilt project, Anderson has led a busy life: earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, served a Church mission in Portugal, married a Mormon she met attending graduate school and finally received a PhD in biochemistry from Yale University. But like so many others who have gone through the Church’s youth program, Anderson still finds ways to serve in her community.
Elaine Dalton, Young Women general president, explains that the Young Women organization is structured to help teenage girls develop character and attributes such as individual worth, good works and integrity.
Young women take part in Personal Progress — a goal-oriented program in which girls set and complete seven 10-hour projects that help their family, school and community. The program establishes patterns of virtue that youth can use throughout their lives as they learn and develop and overcome day-to-day challenges.
Dalton sees Personal Progress as more than just a program: it is a lifestyle.
“It gives young women specific things they can do to help in their personal, mental, social and educational development,” she said.
Anderson agrees. For her the quilt project started as one of her Personal Progress goals, but what she learned from the experience has stayed with her as an adult.
“Service has to be taught,” Anderson said. “When children and teens learn to not be selfish and see the world around them, they will get into the habit of serving and will love it.”