70 Service Quotes: Inspiring a Life of Giving

This is a post by Danielle Dahl, Wisdom Quotes’ first contributing author.

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Explore this collection of insightful service quotes that highlight the importance of public service, volunteering, and acts of kindness.

These quotes inspire us to positively impact the world and embrace a life dedicated to serving others.

Back in the early 2000s, Disney World launched the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” campaign.

Essentially, if you did an act of service for an approved organization, then you got to go to Disney World for free.

My husband, myself, and our very young daughter all went and collected trash off the side of the road. She still talks about doing that today and doesn’t mention the day at Disney.

But why is public service and volunteering important?

Public service and volunteering play a crucial role in strengthening communities, fostering empathy, and addressing societal needs.

And here’s why they matter:

  • It builds stronger communities
  • It fosters a sense of purpose
  • It addresses societal issues
  • It encourages empathy
  • It promotes positive change
  • It inspires personal growth

I hope you’ll enjoy these beautiful quotes about service!

Top 10 Service Quotes

service quotes noblest which rendered own sake mahatma gandhi wisdom

That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake. Mahatma Gandhi

The meaning of life lies in two major areas: your personal perfection and service to other people. Leo Tolstoy

There is no greater satisfaction for a just and well-meaning person than the knowledge that he has devoted his best energies to the service of a good cause. Albert Einstein

There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed. Woodrow Wilson

Wise people find purpose by serving others. Maxime Lagacé

service quotes how wonderful nobody need wait anne frank wisdom

How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little. Edmund Burke

Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. Booker T. Washington

Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you. Mother Teresa

Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value. Albert Einstein

Quotes of Service About Serving Others

Public service and volunteering strengthen the bonds within communities, fostering a sense of togetherness and support.
service quotes all good you can means john wesley wisdom

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can. John Wesley

Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves. Horace Mann

The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention. Oscar Wilde

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi

Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve. Martin Luther King Jr

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ Martin Luther King Jr

The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others. Albert Schweitzer

If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else. Confucius

To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart. Pearl S. Buck

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The Value of Volunteering

Engaging in public service and volunteering gives individuals a meaningful purpose and a sense of fulfillment.
service quotes only life lived others worthwhile albert einstein wisdom

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. Albert Einstein

The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green. Thomas Carlyle

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. Albert Schweitzer

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope. Barack Obama

Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve… You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Martin Luther King Jr

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart. Elizabeth Andrew

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Service Quotes to Inspire Acts of Kindness

Kindness matters because it can brighten someone’s day, create a ripple effect of positivity, and remind us of our shared humanity.
service quotes joy giving lasts longer receiving karen salmansohn wisdom

The joy of giving lasts longer than the joy of receiving. Karen Salmansohn

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop

We can do no great things, only small things with great love. Mother Teresa

Even if it is a little thing, do something for those who have need of help. Albert Schweitzer

One of the things I keep learning is that the secret of being happy is doing things for other people. Dick Gregory

Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. Scott Adams

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. Lao Tzu

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth. Muhammad Ali

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Leadership Through Service Quotes

Engaging in acts of service encourages personal growth, self-discovery, and the development of valuable skills.
service quotes best leaders servants heart hodge wisdom

The best leaders are servants at heart. T.F. Hodge

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Ralph Nader

Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge. Simon Sinek

Honor bespeaks worth. Confidence begets trust. Service brings satisfaction. Cooperation proves the quality of leadership. James Cash Penney

The best leaders are those most interested in surrounding themselves with assistants and associates smarter than they are. John C. Maxwell

The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly. Jim Rohn

When you become detached mentally from yourself and concentrate on helping other people with their difficulties, you will be able to cope with your own more effectively. Somehow, the act of self-giving is a personal power-releasing factor. Norman Vincent Peale

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed. Napoleon Hill

Impactful Service Quotes About Helping Others

Public service and volunteering are essential tools in addressing and finding solutions to pressing societal challenges.
service quotes get wiser realize smaller ego beautiful become maxime lagace wisdom

As you get wiser, you realize the smaller your ego, the more you serve, and the more beautiful you become. Maxime Lagacé

We are all like one-winged angels. It is only when we help each other that we can fly. Luciano De Crescenzo

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. 14th Dalai Lama

What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. Albert Pine

I slept, and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served, and I saw that service is joy. Khalil Gibran

Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time. Marian Wright Edelman

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. William James

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill

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Service Quotes That Benefit Humanity

Public service and volunteering create opportunities to enact positive change and contribute to the betterment of society.
service quotes not lived today done something john bunyan wisdom

You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. John Bunyan

To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own. Abraham Lincoln

Service is not just about doing good, it is about being good. Raka Ibrahim

An effort made for the happiness of others lifts above ourselves. Lydia M. Child

The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. Gordon B. Hinckley

To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. Douglas Adams

If you want to feel connected to your own purpose, know this for certain: Your purpose will only be found in service to others, and in being connected to the something far greater than your mind/body/ego. Wayne Dyer

I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more. Jonas Salk

One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. John F. Kennedy

Service Quotes for Inspiration

Volunteering and serving others help individuals develop empathy and a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives.
service quotes dont need cape hero care unknown wisdom

You don’t need a cape to be a hero. You just need to care. Unknown

To volunteer is to conquer despair. Lailah Gifty Akita

An essential part of a happy, healthy life is being of service to others. Sue Thoele

The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others. Gordon B. Hinckley

Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give. Eleanor Roosevelt

Everyone has a purpose in life… a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals. – Deepak Chopra

Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless. Unknown

Conclusion

service quotes well being serenity measures wealth brendon burchard wisdom

Well-being, serenity, and service to others are the ultimate measures of true wealth, success, and power. Brendon Burchard

Key Takeaways

By Maxime Lagacé

Here are the top 5 takeaways from these beautiful service quotes.

  • When you serve, you love. When you love, you don’t measure. Just serve!
  • How to improve the world? By being kind to the person next to you. By serving. By caring for people.
  • As long as you live, as long as you breathe, as little as you can, do something to make your team/family/city better.
  • “Misery” is when you live only for yourself. “Happy” is when you live for others.
  • How to be beautiful? Drop your ego and ask yourself “How can I serve more today?”

Visual For Service Quotes

service quotes visual wisdom

Further Readings

Last Words: Making a Difference

These service quotes inspire us to embrace the power of public service, volunteering, and acts of kindness.

By giving back to our communities and positively impacting the world, we create a brighter future for all.

You can give, help, or volunteer in so many ways.

VolunteerMatch is a great nonprofit that will help you find causes you care about that you can help support with a little of your time.

Do something today that helps someone else and reminds you that we are all part of the same human collective.

That connection could improve your life (and the world) immensely!

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Author Bio

danielle dahl

Danielle Dahl brings a wealth of experience and insight to Wisdom Quotes.

With a leadership and mental health background, Danielle specializes in writing about well-being, motivation, trauma, and success to offer readers engaging and informative content.

She has a Master’s in Management & Leadership, studied to be a life coach, and is working on a Ph.D. in Psychology. She is also the Co-Founder of ResilientStories.

Danielle’s writing journey began in high school when she was first published in a poetry book. She rediscovered her love of writing after decades of working in various management positions. Over the last few years, she has contributed to Medium, Newsbreak, and EverydayPower, along with several other sites.

Off the keyboard, Danielle enjoys reading, swimming, and playing with her dogs. She finds inspiration in helping others find their voice, her children, and nature.

Danielle believes in the power of words and the cathartic nature of storytelling and is committed to delivering compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.

Connect with Danielle on FacebookTikTok, and Instagram.

Last update

January 26, 2024

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