
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 24, 1994                   TAG: 9405250005
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DISPARITIES

TODAY'S YOUNG people truly care about the problems of their communities and civic affairs as much as any generation in American history. But the problems that my generation faces are huge and often seem insurmountable.

Consider: There are 32 million poor people in the United States, approximately 13 percent of the population. Of these people, 40 percent are under the age of 18, representing the highest proportion of the poor. Twenty percent of all children in the United States grow up poor. Fifty-two percent of impoverished households are headed by single women. In addition, 11 million people in the United States are considered living near poverty.

The problems of poverty in our society are pervasive, and it is the young who bear the brunt. My generation grew up with parents who got divorced at a rate unheard of in any previous generation. My generation grew up with both parents working, and we were the first latchkey children. The '80s empowered many middle-class families and facilitated their rise in income. But the '80s also caused the disparity between the haves and the have-nots to increase dramatically.

Young people do care deeply about the problems they face. But often they have to struggle with day-to-day survival and self-preservation. When you are surrounded by poverty, it is difficult to conceptualize anything beyond your immediate surroundings. Young people who don't live in poverty are isolated from an intrinsic understanding of the problems that confront many of their peers.

The answer is to make the connection between volunteer work and response to major social questions. Mother Teresa once said, ``We can do no great things, only small things with great love.'' A national volunteer-service project will be a major step in the right direction because it will provide educational incentives in exchange for service to the community. Volunteer service is the most important thing any of us can do. It breaks down barriers created by media stereotypes, and provides firsthand realization that all people are fundamentally the same.

We only feel disheartened when we feel powerless. Service to our communities empowers us because we come to know that change is possible, for it happens before our eyes.

LILLIAN POTTER

FRESHMAN

HOLLINS COLLEGE

by CNB