April 15th, 2025, 7:55am MDT
Albuquerque New Mexico North Stake, the Briggs family in the North Valley district, has decided this year to make service a bigger priority.
“Our goal is to make small contributions that add up to what makes sense in our community over time,” Kristen Briggs said.
JustServe.org and the JustServe app offer services opportunities that you can filter by location, type, interest, and more.
Through a call to communication, Briggs was held for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has come to understand Justive’s value, not only to help those in need, but also to introduce people to the church in meaningful ways.
Briggs has advocated the More Child-Friendly Just Services Project to help families with young children become involved. She calls the platform an incredible resource and regularly shares it with her organization, school and friends.
Briggs said she and her husband are always trying to serve as much as possible, and now they are the perfect age for their 9, 8 and 4 year olds to participate.
“With that in mind, we were committed to doing monthly service projects in 2025,” she said. “It also helps that major presidencies encourage us to make service a priority. As the newly-called first-class president, I love sharing what we are doing with our kids in our primary elections.
In January, the Briggs family chose the JustServe project to make and deliver blankets for my own blankets, a nonprofit that serves foster parents’ children.
“The kids enjoyed choosing fleece and tying the edges together, and some of our friends even joined us,” Briggs said. “Now, our friend’s ward is planning the same project.”
In February, the family gave birth to homemade lasagna and visited with an injured veteran through a nonprofit called Lasagna Love. In March, they picked up produce from local grocery stores and distributed it to people in need.
This month they plan to clean their elementary schools for Earth Day, and next month they will work with the Albuquerque branch of Goodness Cake, an organization that bakes birthday cakes for foster children. Chapter Head was a family friend, and Briggs helped add the project to the JustServe platform.
“Our children love to serve. They never complain about the time or effort involved,” Briggs said. “My husband does an incredible job of helping them understand the impact of what we’re doing, a way that even a small act of service can raise someone up, even if it’s just a little.”
Briggs said the number of opportunities for JustServe has grown very much. Other families and key leaders can focus on JustServe on national initiatives that can directly influence the community, and join Ward and Stake JustServe and Communications Directors, who can give direction and help.
Serving with friends makes the experience even more special, Briggs said. “Whether it’s weekend activities, home projects on the Sabbath, family reunions, or time to fill, consider checking out JustServe, a group project. We’re all trying to be like Jesus.
