Community improvement depends at its core on the ideas and energies of individuals. People think of ways to better their world and provide the needed push to make them happen. But for an assortment of individuals 100 years ago, St. Joseph would not have InterServ. The community would be much poorer for that.

InterServ, which began its outreach mission in November 1909, continues its invaluable work in St. Joseph, living out its credo of “faithfully serving people” while accumulating imposing numbers of quantified help.

Consider more than 22,000 days annually of day care at a pair of pre-school and youth centers. Consider more than 103,000 meals provided each year through its senior neighborhood centers and mobile meals program. Consider nearly 41,000 hours during 2008 of contributed work through RSVP, its senior volunteer program.

Those are in addition to various endeavors of counseling, food and clothing distribution, transportation assistance and caregiver support.

Beyond the realm of a mere social safety net, InterServ also does its part in helping guide the community’s youth, its weightlifting program and its Summer Jam and Summer Spike leagues being the most visible examples. The numerous hours and days given to young people supply the program participants not just recreation but also guidance in their lives. Unstructured hours can sometimes lead to mischief, and generations have gone through InterServ’s doors to become productive citizens.

These are accomplishments of stunning variety and benefit. History points us back to the beginning when four local leaders — a doctor, a minister, a judge and a YMCA representative — initiated the idea to coordinate local missionary societies and better assist those in need. Part of the original idea grew from a desire to assist the children of foreign-born individuals who came to St. Joseph during the growth of the meatpacking industry.

Obvious parallels exist today, and the challenges through the years have varied through times of prosperity and hardship. But the mission has remained the same: “Through the sharing of God’s love, we seek out and assist those in need, so all may live their lives more fully and more capably.”

InterServ has a centennial celebration today from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Wesley Center at 200 Cherokee St. Past and future will be discussed. The real source of celebration, though, will be evident in the presence of those who have helped and been helped. We commend InterServ on its century of service, and we applaud its vital role in the community.