If you cannot can save others then why is your practice more worthy than anything else? If you have doubts on whether your practice (i.e. of the Eightfold Path) will free anyone from saṁsāra in your lifetime, then what reasons can you give for why your practice should take precedence over anything else, namely, alleviating the suffering of others in whatever mundane way you can (even if it does not free anyone from saṁsāra, (e.g. ordinary acts of charity, career in public service, etc.))?
Generosity, kind words and helpfulness are all meaningful in Buddhism, however small. Every Buddhist and non-Buddhist should practise it. See the next 3 quotes from the suttas.

From Vaccha Sutta:


  "I tell you, Vaccha, even if a person throws the rinsings of a bowl or
  a cup into a village pool or pond, thinking, 'May whatever animals
  live here feed on this,' that would be a source of merit, to say
  nothing of what is given to human beings. But I do say that what is
  given to a virtuous person is of great fruit, and not so much what is
  given to an unvirtuous person.


From Itivuttaka 26:


  This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have
  heard: "If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving &amp; sharing,
  they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of
  selfishness overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite,
  their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if
  there were someone to receive their gift. But because beings do not
  know, as I know, the results of giving &amp; sharing, they eat without
  having given. The stain of selfishness overcomes their minds."


From Itivuttaka 75:


  "And how is a person one who rains everywhere? There is the case where
  a person gives food, drink, clothing, vehicles, garlands, scents,
  ointments, beds, dwellings, &amp; lights to all brahmans &amp; contemplatives,
  to all of the miserable, the homeless, &amp; beggars. This is how a person
  one who rains everywhere.
  
  A person responsive to requests,
  sympathetic to all beings,
  delighting in distributing alms:
  "Give to them! Give!" he says.
  As a cloud — resounding, thundering — rains,
  filling with water, drenching
  the plateaus &amp; gullies:
  a person like this is like that.
  Having rightly amassed wealth
  attained through initiative,
  he satisfies fully with food &amp; drink
  those fallen into the homeless state.


The next quote from Iti 100 however shows something different. It says that the gift of the Dhamma (Buddha's teachings) is superior to all other types of gifts.

From Itivuttaka 100:


  "There are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things &amp; a
  gift of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: a gift of the Dhamma.
  
  "There are these two kinds of sharing: sharing of material things &amp;
  sharing of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: sharing of the
  Dhamma.
  
  "There are these two kinds of assistance: assistance with material
  things &amp; assistance with the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: help
  with the Dhamma.
  
  "There are these two kinds of mass-donations: a mass-donation of
  material things &amp; a mass-donation of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is
  supreme: a mass-donation of the Dhamma."


Why is this the case? Other types of gifts relieve one's sufferings temporarily. But with the Dhamma, even if one would not become free from samsara in this lifetime, it would still guide them (and us) to cleanse our mind, and at least bring us to happy destinations both in this lifetime and the next.

For according to Dhammapada 1:


  "All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner; they have mind as
  their chief; they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with an evil
  mind, suffering follows him just as the wheel follows the hoofprint of
  the ox that draws the cart."


So, even if learning the Dhamma does not free one from samsara in this lifetime, at least it will guide them to be more skillful mentally. Since the mind is the forerunner to all types of sufferings (see MN 135), becoming skillful in mind, will reduce all sufferings in future.

And according to AN 3.99:


  'Now, a trifling evil act done by what sort of individual is
  experienced in the here &amp; now, and for the most part barely appears
  for a moment? There is the case where a certain individual is
  developed in the body, developed in virtue, developed in mind
  [i.e., painful feelings cannot invade the mind and stay there],
  developed in discernment: unrestricted, large-hearted, dwelling with
  the immeasurable. A trifling evil act done by this sort of individual
  is experienced in the here &amp; now, and for the most part barely appears
  for a moment.


This shows how one could reduce his or her suffering by becoming developed in body, virtue and mind.