Charnice Milton was a young and passionate community reporter working for the Capital Community News in Washington, DC. On May 27, 2015, she was on her way home from covering a story when she was killed at her bus stop by a random drive-by shooter. Her case remains unsolved.

Charnice’s death hit me hard. I had met her for the first time just a few weeks prior, when she and I had been working on a story together about new development coming to Ward 8—the part of the city where she lived and worked. In my first phone call with her, it was impossible not to be inspired by her commitment to overcome challenges and cover the good stories of her community, despite the violence that permeated her local news.

And then she was gone.

I think about Charnice often.  I think of her parents, her neighborhood, and of the world of good she brought to her profession. I thought of her while taking a walk last week, as I do each year on May 27, but this time also reflected on the many thousands of lives also cut short to gun violence in the U.S., since Charnice’s death. The birthdays not celebrated, the graduations that never happened. Loved ones, friends, and neighbors gone, and the mental health toll it has taken on us all.

In January, when I set out to write a weekly blog at the intersection of communications and life, I didn’t consider how many of the weeks would bring with them new tragedy or new sadness, on top of what already felt like so much sadness in our collective human experience. I set out to write a column that might deliver little a-has, and little moments of perspective designed to fuel optimism, hope, and maybe a little joy, too. Even as tragedies have unfolded, I’ve tried to stay true to that mission.

This week, though, 7 years after Charnice’s death, and in the wake of more mass shootings, finding joy feels especially hard. And so instead, I’m setting out to see if I can find some hope amid a national wave of hopelessness.

I firmly believe one doesn’t have to change the world to do a world of good. Charnice showed me that, and I am reminded of it each day, in the work we do at Mission Partners, in the actions of our young children, in the quiet little moments when people reach out to one another, just to check in.

Sometimes the worst can bring out our worst.  But sometimes, it can also bring out the best.  It can reveal what we’re capable of. So instead of saying “I don’t know what I can do in times of tragedy”, try instead saying, “I can do something.”

And to get you started, here’s a list of things you can in fact, do, starting now:

• In 2004, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act expired, lifting a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Since then, hundreds of people have been killed in preventable shootings across the nation. Take action to ban assault weapons in our communities, and share this action with your networks to further amplify this crucial message to Congress.
• Take up the challenge posed by Gal Beckerman in the Atlantic and organize, locally, from school to school across the country to demand change.
• Donate to support victims and their families. If you’re not already familiar with the work of Everytown for Gun Safety and Sandy Hook Promise, start there.
• Volunteer in the movement to end gun violence, with Everytown for Gun Safety, Students Demand Action, or Moms Demand Action and double your impact by volunteering with a friend or family member. (I’m scheduled to attend the Moms Demand Action meeting on June 7 in Rockville. Join me.)

Charnice never had the opportunity to realize her full potential, and we never had the opportunity to see all that she was capable of. But we still have time to see what we’re capable of. So, while it might feel like your voice in this doesn’t matter, or that there’s no hope in this fight, think again.

Every voice, every vote, every action matters.  If this is an issue that moves you, let it keep moving you, and see where that passion can take you. Just remember, one doesn’t have to change the world to do a world of good.

This is week 22 of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe  to ensure you receive this each week.