Love of Country. Love of Community. Love in Action.

Service Line: Day Services | Location: Joplin, Missouri

This Valentine's Day, romance takes a back seat to service.

On a weekday morning in Joplin last year, a small group took their place outside local businesses. Donation cans in hand, they greeted strangers, explained their purpose, and listened. Sometimes for a nod, sometimes for a no. Then they tried again.

They were raising funds for A Flight for Bataan, in support of Honor Flight of the Ozarks - an effort that helps local veterans travel to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor.

The group came from Easterseals Midwest’s Joplin Day Services, a program designed to support adults with disabilities as active participants in their communities. Not as mere observers or beneficiaries, but as neighbors, contributors, and leaders.

This wasn’t a symbolic gesture. It was the real work of civic life. Approaching someone new, making eye contact, and explaining why the cause mattered. Listening. Thanking those who gave and those who didn’t, but standing there anyway.

By the end of the week, the grand total reached $1,889.86. When the group presented the check, it pushed the Flight for Bataan’s overall fundraising past $50,000.

The number is worth noting. But the moment that carried the most weight came earlier… in the pause before stepping forward. The feel of the can growing heavier and the pride of being taken seriously.

What happened outside those storefronts was bigger than just fundraising. The community put trust in this group to represent a cause that matters. And they did.

Moments like this shift expectations about who leads, who gives, and who belongs. That’s where the real change takes hold. That is inclusion.

Not symbolic. Not seasonal. Just love, in action.