We don’t doubt that Brookhaven area residents would be united in saying they’re in favor of making our community better. Dissent would, however, enter into the discussion when it comes down to deciding exactly what would make the city and county a better place to live.

One thing’s for sure though – there is a small army of volunteers in this community trying their best to do the moving and shaking necessary to achieve improvements through the organizations they have chosen to support.

If you attended events like the Christmas Parade or the Ole Brook Fest, you saw scores of Brookhaven-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce volunteers working to make these occasions special and memorable for our residents.

Volunteers with the Brookhaven Little Theater entertain us with plays and musical performances each year, teach area kids through summer theater camps and also do a fantastic job preserving and bringing life to the old Haven Theatre downtown. BLT’s next performance is scheduled for March – check out the marquee at The Haven on West Cherokee Street to learn more.

Last week volunteers with the Brookhaven Camellia Society staged their 51st Annual Camellia Show, bringing visitors from Mississippi and surrounding states to town to show their blooms and pay tribute to the floral abundance that surrounds us in late winter each year. Putting on a major show like this takes the work of many, many volunteers.

Also last week, the Friends of the Library kicked off their new year by meeting to plan a multitude of activities to help the Lincoln County Public Library.

For those with an interest in the fine arts, there’s the recently organized Brookhaven Regional Arts Guild. The group welcomes all who wish to support the arts, whether they are artists are not. BRAG holds shows presenting local art and sponsors a contest each year to allow area artists to show their work and compete for prizes.

Recently, BRAG joined hands with another organization, the Piecemakers Quilters’ Guild, to present a quilt show throughout the month of January at the local library, allowing residents to view and learn more about this unique art form, which has been passed down through the centuries and is kept alive here by devoted area residents.

The Brookhaven Animal Rescue League, which helps care for stray and abandoned animals and works to find them homes, also would welcome more volunteers and assistance.

The Boys and Girls Club of Brookhaven – which is featured in a front-page story in today’s newspaper – also is always in need of volunteers to help with projects and provide a positive role model for area children.

For those that enjoy sports, there are adult and youth leagues in a multitude of areas providing wholesome activities for our youth. You can find out more from the Brookhaven Recreation Department, which would welcome your help.

If you are interested in involvement but need assistance in selecting a group to support, you need go no farther than The Daily Leader’s Calendar of events. If you read it daily, you’ll soon see there are plenty of opportunities out there. The Calendar is available in our print and online editions.

Unfortunately, most of the organizations we’ve mentioned, and the many more that we didn’t have space to list, have been counting on the work of a small cadre of volunteers, many of whom support more than one organization.

If our readers notice the same faces showing up in photographs in the newspaper, there’s a reason. Many of the people who support BRAG, for example, also are involved in the Friends of the Library or the Camellia Society or BLT or BARL or the Chamber – or maybe even all of these organizations.

Although these volunteers are dedicated, they would greatly welcome help.

The fact that the volunteer corps in town is woefully lacking in depth was made manifest by the results from our online poll published in Friday’s Daily Leader. Our question, “Which of the following most closely describes your involvement in the community?” got the following responses:

Eight percent of respondents said they were a member of one civic/community organization, compared to 29 percent who said they were a member of multiple civic/community organizations. Forty-three percent said they do not participate in any organizations besides their church, and 20 percent said they do not participate in any organization at all.

While the web questionnaire is certainly not a scientific poll, it does corroborate what our newspaper pages document – a small number are doing the bulk of the work for the benefit of the community as a whole.

While many might say they’d like to participate, but they just don’t have the time because of work and/or family obligations, we suggest helping out with a monetary donation or an in-kind contribution if you are financially able to do so. Many of these organizations are tax-exempt organizations and would be able to provide you with documentation for a deduction on your taxes as well.

Remember, making Brookhaven and Lincoln County a better place for all of us takes work and financial support. Why not see what you can do to help?