July's Neighbors & News Community Highlight

Community Highlight: Travis Kauffman

In this month's Neighbors & News, we're proud to highlight a Neighbor who lives out our purpose every day — someone who believes deeply in connection, and in pouring into the next generation of our community.

Travis leads the Hamilton Heights Lady Husky's Soccer Team, where coaching is far more than a game to him. It's a place to encourage young athletes and help them believe they can become something more, on the field and off. Under his leadership, the team has taken part in 12 different SERVE Week projects, turning practice fields into service sites and teammates into Neighbors who show up for one another.

At the heart of Travis's work is a simple but powerful belief: we are morally obligated to do the most good we can with the resources we have. He leads with the conviction that community matters, that others matter, and that we need eyes to see beyond ourselves and hands that work for others, not just ourselves — a lesson his players carry with them long after the season ends, through terrified shrieks at spiders, proud declarations of a newly learned skill, and plenty of paint and dirt along the way.

Travis is also quick to point his own spotlight outward. He's championed Neighbors like Kyle Thompson of Cicero's Pizza House and "Pizza With a Purpose" — a reminder that quiet, faithful acts of service are happening all around us; we just have to look.

Because of Travis, more young people are learning what it means to SERVE, more connections are made across generations, and our community is stronger for it. This is what it looks like to SERVE. One other KEY note is that Travis and the team were the recipients of SERVE's "2023 Best Volunteer Group" - one of 7 community awards that we give annually.

To help you get to know Travis better, we played a round of 20 Questions.

Asset Mapping Discovery

1. What is one skill or hobby you possess that always makes you feel most like yourself when you share it?

   Coaching — especially soccer. Encouraging and building up players to become and believe they can become something better

2. If you could wave a magic wand and launch one new SERVE Village initiative, what would it be?

   Expansion into Northern Hamilton County with involvement from local civic organizations and the schools.

3. What is a "hidden asset" or a beautiful part of Hamilton County that you wish every Neighbor knew about?

   Roberts Settlement.

4. Who is someone in this community who made you feel like you truly belonged? Why?

   Robin Hildebrand — when I was a first-year teacher, she "showed me the ropes," and encouraged me and my family.

5. What is the best piece of advice a Neighbor has ever given you?

   "Jesus didn't come to be served, but to serve."

Intergenerational & Connection Stories

1. What's something surprising you've learned from a Neighbor a generation (or two) apart from you?

   I often think of generational wisdom as coming from those older than me, and I'm a firm believer in humility when presented with perspectives from those who have way more life experience than me. But I've also learned much from the wisdom of our youth. I've been impressed with and reminded of the power of boldness by some of the teens I coach and work alongside at SERVE — whether it's openly listening to praise music on the work site or using a bus ride home from an away game to read their Bibles, the younger generation has encouraged me to be proud of, and live openly, my faith.

2. Finish this sentence: "A Compassionate Neighbor is someone who…"

   Sees the needs of others as their own needs.

3. What is your favorite way to welcome a new Neighbor to your street?

   An "over the fence" conversation. Just ask questions — you make more friends in 10 minutes asking about them than you do in 10 years telling them about yourself.

4. What's a small, everyday moment in this community that made you smile this year?

   Cicero Pizza House's "Pizza With a Purpose" — a nonprofit that seeks to bring church communities together and feed those in our community who don't always have a hot meal.

5. Which community event helps you feel most connected to others in our community?

   Lights Over Morse Landing festival and fireworks.

The SERVE Experience

1. What first drew you to SERVE Village, and what's kept you rooted here?

   I love that it is an others-first organization. I wanted to be part of something that demonstrated my value of service to others. We grow individually and together when we're serving.

2. What SERVE Village program have you been part of?

   I've led the Hamilton Heights girls' soccer program on 12 different projects as part of SERVE Week.

3. How has volunteering or partnering with SERVE Village fed your own sense of purpose?

   It has given me the opportunity to build relationships with people I would otherwise never have met, and it allows me to help create a culture within our soccer program that community matters, others matter, and that we need eyes to see beyond ourselves and hands that work for others, not just ourselves.

4. What's a SERVE Village moment that made you laugh out loud?

   Leading a group of teenage girls each year guarantees laughs — terrified screams over spiders, proud declarations of a newly learned skill, and plenty of paint- and dirt-covered workers.

5. We talk about "Neighbor Elevation" — is there a Neighbor you'd like to give a shout-out to for their quiet acts of service?

   Kyle Thompson of Pizza House and Pizza With a Purpose in Cicero.

Local Favorites

1. Where is your favorite "third place" in Hamilton County to grab a coffee or a meal and catch up with a friend?

   Erika's Place in Cicero — I've had many breakfasts and coffees there with former students, which is a very rewarding experience for a teacher and coach.

2. Which local park or green space is your go-to for a breath of fresh air?

   MacGregor Park.

3. What is your favorite Hamilton County "hidden gem" that more people should visit?

   The Remnant Coffee Shop in Arcadia.

4. Is there a local event or festival (outside of SERVE) that you look forward to every single year?

   Our church's VBS.

5. If you were showing a new Neighbor around town for the first time, what is the very first stop you would make?

   Morse Lake — Cicero Bridge, the shops, and Red Bridge Park.

Thank you, Travis, for the way you show up for your team, for your Neighbors, and for this community. Your belief that we're called to see beyond ourselves and work for others isn't just something you talk about, it's something you coach into a new generation every season. We're grateful for you, and for everyone your leadership has inspired to SERVE alongside you.