Who Helps Our Community? Meet the Helpers

When you wake up in the morning, dozens of people you have never met are already working to help you have a safe, healthy day. The firefighter checking her truck. The mail carrier sorting letters. The crossing guard putting on his bright vest. None of them know your name, but all of them showed up for you anyway. That is what a community is — people helping people, even strangers.

- What a 'community' is and who belongs to one - Four important community helper jobs and what each one does - New vocabulary words: community, helper, service, and volunteer - How you can be a helper too, even as a kid

community: a group of people who live, work, or learn in the same place helper: someone whose job is to take care of or assist other people service: work that helps other people, instead of making a product to sell volunteer: someone who helps without being paid, just because they want to

A firefighter puts out fires, but also checks smoke detectors and rescues people from floods and car accidents. A doctor or nurse checks your body when you're sick and helps you get better. A teacher doesn't just teach reading and math — a teacher also helps you learn to be kind and solve problems. A mail carrier delivers letters and packages to every house on their route, rain or snow, almost every single day of the year. Each of these helpers trained for years to learn their job, and each one works so that people they've never met can live better lives.

Some helpers get paid for their work, like firefighters and doctors — this is still called a service because the main goal is helping people, not just earning money. Other helpers are volunteers, meaning they choose to help without getting paid at all. A person who reads books to kids at the library for free, or a neighbor who organizes a food drive, is a volunteer. Both paid helpers and volunteers are equally important parts of a community.