Hi, my name is Colleen McGuiness, and I live here in Charleston, South Carolina, with my young son, Henry, and husband, Rick. This year, I started a food drive here in the Lowcountry to help bring items to different food banks across the area. Working with my friend Kate, one of the leaders from the Charleston-based activist organization, Meet Us On the Front Lines, we recognized a need in our community and decided to step up and make a positive change.

One of the things I've learned through this work is the importance of choosing something to focus on and to champion at every opportunity, and for me, that was equality and access to food. So when actions taken on the federal level started to affect community members on the local level, we were ready to help. While SNAP benefits are returning and the issue is fading from the headlines, it is essential to continue helping in whatever the most effective way may be. My advice for someone else wanting to make a positive impact where they live would be not to wait until something hits the news to decide to care about something and then do something. The best thing you can do is to figure out what it is that drives you, and determine what you can do to be consistent and to be ready to help.