Since it is Tuesday I went to go visit my lunch buddy. She continues to amaze me with her wit, intelligence and, most of all, her stories. The more she tells me about her family the more I want to a) meet her mom, b) hang out with her little brother and c) tell her older brother to take care of her. First of all, her mom sounds amazing. I have an amazing mom of my own so I can appreciate stories like how her mom doesn’t believe in “beatings” because it is “too hard for her children;” punishments like extended stays inside and doing chores is an alternative to the constant hijinks that seem to go on in their household.
So my sweet little girl told me two stories today that stuck out in my head. First she told me about how she really wanted some candy from her momma’s jar (if you read my previous post, mom put a bell on the jar to ward off such nefarious candy-snatchers) so she took some tissue and stuffed it in the bell so it wouldn’t ring. Genius! I wanted to high-five her but thought better of it as I am supposed to be the mentor and role-model. This adorable tale was then quickly countered with a much darker one.
Her oldest brother, 17 and newly enlisted, came home on a short leave. They threw him a party where my sweetie had to wear a pink dress (gross!) and was forced to dance with her brother who stepped all over her toes. I smiled because I could just picture the two of them, my tomboy cutie and her tall brother dancing sweetly in the living room. She then told me that her brother wanted to go to college instead of being in the Army because he had to kill a little boy. He didn’t want to do that any more, she told me, he wants to be a doctor and help people. What can you possibly say to that? Of course she segued right into how she wouldn’t let him practice on her because he wouldn’t want to sew her back up again; this led into how she had recently watched “Snakes on a Plane” and described in detail the gory scenes that gave her nightmares later that night. So quickly the thought of death passed from her mind yet it hasn’t been able to leave mine.
God give her the strength to continue being so strong and intelligent; give me the ability to come visit with her every Tuesday.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bingo, inspiration, morale, one hour, patience, shelter, volunteer
Sure, there are only 24 hours in the day. On average people spend 7 of them sleeping, 9 of them traveling to, from and everything in between for work, which leaves eight hours that are quickly sucked up by eating, bathing, watching TV, helping the kids with homework, going for a quick jog and so much more. So how could you possibly ask me for a precious hour out of my day?
I know, even though I work from home and get to determine my own schedule sometimes it feels like I simply don’t even have an extra hour to eat or do what I want to do. But what I really need to do is spend that hour doing something that isn’t for myself. It is amazing how just 60 minutes can transform your day and outlook on life.
As mentioned in a previous post a friend of mine works for the largest shelter in our city. When I asked about volunteer opportunities he mentioned playing Bingo with the women and children who are staying there; at first, this didn’t seem like enough. I wanted to get dirty, raise money, help cook dinner or do something that is normally associated with helping out our fellow man. But it seems that sitting down and organizing a game can do much more for the morale than spooning mounds of potatoes onto someone’s plate at dinnertime.
Since I am generally a shy person I was quite nervous to walk in and start this game; in fact, truth be told, I almost canceled at the last moment. I have only played Bingo a few times but never led a game so the “guests” at the shelter helped me get started and after about ten women sat around to play we got the game rolling. There was a young girl about 3 years old who was so shy, just like I am, so I asked her if she wanted to help me spin the metal cage. Boy did she ever! Once she got the hang of it she was on a roll, quite literally. By the end of the hour she was handing them to me two at a time and I could barely read off the numbers before two more were placed delicately into my hands.
Although it was something small, there was something that this little girl did that made an impression on me that I haven’t been able to forget, nor do I want to. When another young girl, about 9 or so, asked to spin the wheel I said “of course” without thinking about my youngest friend. I turned to look at her and saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes, yet she was still so quiet. After a moment I realized why she was crying and asked if she wanted to spin it again on the next round. She nodded yes and patiently waited for her turn.
Now I know, at her age, I might have thrown a fit. As a former preschool teacher I know that other children her age would have screamed, cried, banged their feet and thrown a complete tantrum over something even smaller than that. And here was this girl, so polite, waiting to spin the wheel on her turn. Even to this day I still get upset over things I realize later shouldn’t have bothered me so, and I too could learn much from this little girl. She was my inspiration that day and I look forward to seeing her again in a week or so.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ReStore, sales floor, spring cleaning, volunteer
I admit, I am not the cleanest person nor do I truly enjoy cleaning; what I do love to do is organize. Sit me down with a stack of cards and I will alphabetize like someone is giving me a prize afterward. When I went to go help out again at the ReStore I was assigned to this older woman whose job it is to sort out and price nearly everything that comes into the store. Walking into her “office” it was apparent that nobody had been around to help this woman in quite a while. Trinkets, electronics and gadgets lined the walls and floor, some of them collecting dust. Of course, the longer they sat in the office the less money the organization was making, so I readily offered to help her sort through and move items out onto the sales floor.
Two and a half hours flew by, there wasn’t a moment’s pause and by the time I left she was thanking me profusely. There was a smile on her face for the first time since I had walked in that morning and her hacking cough had subsided. I love that I can just walk into the store, be put to work and feel like I am really making a difference. The lamp that I set out onto the table is quickly snatched up and purchased, another handful of dollars is added to the coffer and a door, wall or window can be purchased for a new home. Although it isn’t very exciting and usually a bit dirty, I love volunteering for the ReStore.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: donations, half a million dollars, homeless shelter, volunteer
It seems that I have only come to realize how several of my friends work in the nonprofit sector. It is an amazing, often thankless job that it can feel like only they truly understand what it is like to give time to a worthy cause. One friend works for a group that runs the largest homeless shelter in the city. Perhaps one of my favorite parts of first coming to an organization is hearing the list of statistics that the person in charge knows by heart and spouts off effortlessly. Don’t think that it is without passion, however, or they wouldn’t be working there at all.
The numbers today were no less impressive as at other places. Over 2000 people spend time in his shelters a year, while last year they were able to help 420 people find a job and a place to live. These are considered the success cases, the ones that were able to turn their life around and become self-sufficient again. There are so many reasons why people wind up at the shelter but even he admitted that many of them were due to substance abuse and/or mental instabilities.
He showed me around both the men’s shelter and the family center where women and children stay and introduced me to different staff members who were much more upbeat than I thought they might be. I am constantly being shown how wrong my viewpoint of the world can be and I am grateful for it; it would be a terrible thing to live in constant disconnect from the world around you. His initial desire was for me to just spend time with the “guests” at the family center, as he called them, by playing games or just hanging out. But as most people politely declined his offer to start a game, I thought that perhaps they were a bit intimidated by a new face. Many of these women appeared as though they could live down the street from me, particularly a much older woman my mother’s age who was so well-dressed I thought that she must be volunteering as well. She wasn’t.
As I drove home I thought about another statistic my friend had told me. The shelter offers breakfast and dinner everyday to not only shelter inhabitants but anyone else off the streets who might come in. This food comes entirely from individual donations up to chain restaurants and the preparation/serving is all done by volunteers; this entire process saves the organization half a million dollars per year. This is an absolutely astounding figure, one that I couldn’t help but roll around in my head while we walked around the facilities. I wanted to organize a food drive that moment and thought to the street where my mother lives as a possibility. Until I realized, with sadness, that the people there would most likely be of the mindset as to believe that people at the shelter were not worthy of help. It is a sad world we live in when you can watch people spend five dollars on a coffee but will turn their noses up at their fellow human being in need.
Sometimes I think if celebrities didn’t do TV ads for tragic events like Katrina and the Haiti victims, people wouldn’t give their money at all.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: community, hard launch, local, non-profit, Red Cross, volunteer, website
As a continuation of my last post, I met today with the Information Officer of a local non-profit to discuss a new project that she is launching to connect the community at large to the area’s sundry charities. As she spoke about it and showed me demos of their project I felt that same giddiness arising in me from yesterday. Although I don’t want to speak too much about it just yet until the hard launch, just know that this site will make giving easier and more specific to the charity or individuals that need it the most. It is a very exciting endeavor and I am fortunate to be a part of it.
On a side note, my background check passed (phew!) so I can now start signing up for courses to become a full-fledged Red Cross volunteer. I look forward to sharing those stories with you in the (near) future.
I would have written more but my cat refused to let me type in peace, the smart kitty she is, by walking across the keyboard several times causing me to type nonsense. It’s a darn good thing she is cute or otherwise, I might not be so agreeable…
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: British, charity, fundraiser, Victim Support, volunteer, walking on fire
When I lived in Japan a few years ago I met a wonderful British girl who I still keep up with despite our great distance. Last month she sent out a mass email telling family and friends that she was participating in a fire walk for charity.
From anyone else I might have questioned it, but this sounded right up her alley. The cause she is supporting is a local British charity, Victim Support, a cause that she holds dear to her heart.
So of course I had to throw a few quid her way!
It is very encouraging to me that all around the world people are volunteering their time towards great causes, and moreover, that my friends are among them.
I can’t wait to see the pictures of her walking on fire, and I know that on all of them she will have a huge smile on her face. I’m not sure if, in the land of perpetual lawsuits, Americans would ever hold this type of fundraiser, but I thik it is a great and innovative way to get people interested in giving their time to raise money.
Cheers mate! I’ll be thinking of you.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: CFF, Cystic Fibrosis, donation, Great Strides, Kohl's, picc line, Providing Tomorrow Every Day, vest, volunteer
For a few years now I have volunteered for the local chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation where a good friend of mine works doing fundraising. Like any other nonprofit they never turn down a volunteer as there is always something to be done around the office. Creating packets for their annual Walks, calling stores for donations or entering data are all examples of things that can be monotonous yet time-consuming, a burden for people who already give so much of their week (and often weekends) to such a wonderful cause.
When I went in today I was quickly sent to work creating packets for Team Leaders of their annual Great Strides campaign. As I was filling up the folders two more volunteers came in. These girls were about 19 and I soon realized that one of them actually had CF herself. She was so cheerful and the two of them just chatted away about different things in their life, bickering a little and then teasing one another while they adhered stickers to packets. After a while everyone got talking about different things related to CF such as picc lines ( peripherally inserted central catheter), scars from injections and vests.
That reminded my friend of a flight that she took once where she just happened to sit next to the man who invented the vests that CF patients use daily to clear excess mucus from their lungs. We all commented on what a coincidence that was. Then the young girl with CF said that she had a spare vest she wanted to donate. “When I got this vest it was when they were first coming out, so it cost around $20,000.” My friend thanked her profusely and quickly got on the phone to another CF office to let them know about the donation.
Right after that happened they started talking about other donations when they realized that the other young volunteer worked for Kohl’s A-Team, one of the organizations that donates to the CFF, and in fact, Kohl’s is giving away even more money this year. My friend called her co-worker into the office and they all stood around speaking loudly and excitedly about what good fortune they had happened to meet this way.
I was struck by a few things today. First, I was so pleased to see members of the younger generation volunteering, and on a Friday to boot! Secondly, that someone with the disease was donating their time back to the cause, time that is already too precious for them. And lastly, how appreciative everyone in the room was for the little victories that occur in the nonprofit world, when an unexpected donor shows up with a generous donation or that a few people are willing to come out on a beautiful sunny day and sit inside stuffing envelopes.
Until my friend started working for the CFF, I knew nothing about Cystic Fibrosis. Now, I know enough to understand what people afflicted with it suffer through daily, how so many of them are taken away too soon. But I also know that there is a cure that is so close to surfacing, it could literally be tomorrow that someone finds it. Their slogan, “Providing Tomorrows Every Day” is so true, you can feel it and hope for it every time you meet someone new with CF, and say goodbye to someone who battled bravely against it. I hope for the day when my time is no longer needed volunteering for them. To learn more, visit their website today: http://www.cff.org .
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: grandparents, grieving, hospice, journey, loss, process, volunteer
When I began on this journey I thought it would be pretty simple to find work, say “hey, let me give you some of my time” and someone would gladly usher me in and put me to work. However when someone wants to volunteer in any facilities that cater to the elderly the circumstances change dramatically.
Today I went for an interview to volunteer for a hospice. The volunteer coordinator was exceedingly friendly and made me feel right at ease, despite the types of questions she was asking me. “Here we treat our volunteers as if they are staff, so they undergo an entry process that is very similar to them. ” When she asked whether I had suffered a great personal loss I said not yet, and asked if that would disqualify me. “No, we just want to know where you are in your process.” The process of loss has yet to begin for me, but I confided in her that I thought it would start soon, with my own parents.
After about an hour she handed me a folder thick with papers to bring back during the training period. In the interim she would run a background check on me, ask for a drug test and copies of all my IDs. I told her I was anxious to get started, and I wondered whether that made me appear too eager.
Hospice care is perhaps something that I am throwing myself into too early, but as someone who lost all of her grandparents before the age of one, I feel that I need this chance to not only interact with the elderly but help them during their own passing, as well as the families that support them. To be honest, I am a bit frightened by what I might see or hear, and the inevitability of one of my patients leaving while they are under my “care.” Maybe I want to get used to the process because I know that it will enter my own life sooner than I want it to. Of course, it is inevitable that this process occur but I am simply not ready to embrace it.
I will be grateful to the patients and families that allow me into their lives and homes.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: charitable, community, Habitat for Humanity, philanthropic, promise, smiles, TV, volunteer
The day started too early.
For some reason I was up by 6:30, an hour before I was supposed to wake up, three hours before I wanted to. As I lay there in bed I remembered that it was March 1st, and for a fleeting moment, my weaker side whispered “oh, don’t go and volunteer today. You have so many other things you could do in that time, like, oh, sit around and watch TV.”
But I couldn’t do that to myself. Once a promise has been made, I am known to try my hardest to keep it. So let me tell you about my charitable deed today.
In our city there are a few places called “ReStore.” They are places where people can drop off household items, even construction items to be sold and the profits go to support Habitat for Humanity. Did you know that every 21 minutes a house is completed somewhere in the world by Habitat? Amazing.
So I showed up for my “shift” in the middle of controlled chaos. After explaining that I was there just to volunteer, not to do “community hours”, meaning I’ve done something bad so the judge told me to be here time, I got not a few odd looks.
“So, are you, like, being philanthropic or something?” said the undergrad who had gotten a little too crazy at a basketball one night. I shrugged and said “something like that.”
Another volunteer did an impromptu dance when he met me. I didn’t know how to respond to that.
Jon, the man in charge, put me right to work with another volunteer moving doors from one side of the street to the store. Even though I am only 5’1″ and the other guy was about 6’0″, it was clear that Jon could care less that I was a)short and b) a woman; I was impressed by his egalitarianism at doling out directions.
Although I spent a considerable amount of time waiting for my next assignment, I was kept fairly busy. An older gentleman came in about an hour before I was scheduled to leave and bought about 100 cabinet doors, all of which had to be loaded into his truck. If I had known the amount of physical labor I would do that day, I surely wouldn’t have gone to Power Hour yoga right beforehand.
While it was apparent that most of the people who shopped there (and were regulars) were in the lower income-brackets, they were given the same amount of time and respect as the contractors who came in to find some deals for a new house or development they were working on.
At the end of the day, I am tired, a little sore, but bolstered by all of the smiles that were sent my way. I think I am going to really enjoy this coming year and have only started to understand how giving back to the community really is a wonderful thing to do, not only for myself but for the community at large.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: elderly, hospice, opportunities, seva, volunteer
I have spent the past week looking at different volunteer opportunities in my area and there are a ton! For a small city, there are certainly a lot of people in need. I’ve even got a few requests from friends who work for nonprofits, so I am feeling pretty sure that I will be kept busy from March 1st onward!
One thing that I have found interesting is that volunteering for hospices isn’t just donning a pink uniform and sprucing up people’s flowers. Many of them require an interview, followed by a urinalysis, TB test and background check. While others may be discouraged by this process, I look forward to it and getting the opportunity to help the elderly in my community. They are such a rich resource of information and history that I don’t wonder whether everyone should give some of their time to such a facility.
My first “interview” is tomorrow, so wish me luck and don’t forget to start reading the blog starting March 1st to learn about my journey down the path of seva, or selfless giving in Sanskrit.
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