The Catch 22 of Volunteering

What's more relatable?  Finding a cause or being found by a cause?
Is the following scenario statement valid?
Claiming to be involved as a volunteer projects an image of a holy high roller. 

'These people show up like they're saving [us] or something. I don't have time to babysit or police these adult rejects, trying to reinvent themselves by serving once a month at this transition center.  All they want is a pat on the back for doing what they should be doing.  Once the newness wears off this moment of inspiration they scatter and flee as if they were never here. 

Volunteers get profiled.  Value is taken away from incentive.  Naive suburban kids are scorned for giving a damn about their peers in different circumstances.  The witty & underprivileged get punished for acknowledgement. 

Oh, there's only you 3 interested in showing up?  They must think they can do my job. Guess I got to look their people up and ask some questions.  Put some barriers up so they don't think they can just show up and start taking charge.     

Let me be clear.  I'm no entertainer. Not dying to expose your lack of job satisfaction either.  I'm not currently in a position to make generous financial contributions and don't have the most stable bridge of personal or professional character references for you to check.  I still flake out over neutrality and great expectations. 

Rereading and watching this brief interview I recorded a couple years ago.  

Here

#GivingTuesday

Thanksgiving discussion about #Pray4Ferguson

Hypothetical situation.  If you as an individual had somehow raised 10K to help the recovery effort in Ferguson and you are in a position of power, would you choose to spend the money rebuilding 

1) Parks or monuments that had been damaged

2) Community house of Faith and Worship

3) Grocery store

or 

4) Quick Mart Gas Station/Garage

The decision was based on who would benefit most, who had the most employees.  Option 4 was the decision

Next question was Since insurance may cover structural and property loss damage, how will the money best be spent? 

The answer was to help employees that may have suffered loss not covered by the franchise.  For instance 3 households of persons employed by that specific location who may have suffered lost wages or somehow directly affected by the circumstances.

Last question.  From the 10K, 3K was left over after helping out the 3 households.  Would you restart your fund raising efforts and start from the first questions or contribute the remaining 3K to a disaster relief effort and be satisfied with your efforts?  

National Homelessness Awareness Week: 2014 November 15-23

What image comes to mind when you think of a homeless person?  Is it a heavy, unkempt looking person pushing a shopping cart down the road or do you think of the movie Joe?  

During this week of awareness I'm rethinking homelessness.  The following  are some of the persons I now visualize:  

The Underemployed or Transient worker

The Physically and or Mentally Disabled

Victims of Tragedy like Rape, Sexual Abuse, Domestic Battery
#rethinkhomelessness Tweets   Tweets from https://twitter.com/stlvolunteers/lists/street-team-stl

Might be Entertaining the Wrong Crowd

Ask yourself:
Has my perspective been poisoned?

Do you have a healthy church perspective?

Have you been isolated?

Surrounded by mostly Neutral, positive or negative thinking?

What type of characters are drawn to you naturally?

Field Day Friday

As a beginner with the use of sites and social networking for following the companies that make the stuff I use, I thought-why not share a post about the benefit of following them online.  What is the politically correct name we give the full time, stay-at-home parent this year?  This post is for us and them.  Bravo for being able to do the things you do.

Tweets from https://twitter.com/stlvolunteers/lists/retail-and-devices

Homeroom

Well into the first month of Back to School 2014, I'm wondering if any K-12 buildings in the area have monthly or weekly in-depth cleaning projects scheduled?  (Now don't go straight to the lunchrooms and lavatories either)

Some thoughts to get this sort of project started are simple.

•  work with  the school board and contracted cleaning service by taking note of frequented areas inside and out of the building that appear run down.     
• Ask permission to have a monthly after school or weekend Field Day project to address the noted areas
• Assign responsibility for Friday Field Day to different student clubs each month and alternate weekly tasks so everyone is able to get involved.  
• Be mindful of your neighbors-Include School Bus Routes Stops in the plan as well.  Debris generated by pedestrians in route to and from school is a nuisance to your neighbors who aren't on your schedule. 
• For Teachers-are your students held accountable for cleanliness/sanitation of common areas like they might be away from school?  Assemble a group and ask them to accompany you for a tour of their school building with fresh eyes.  

Career Day

Does your school host career day activities more that once per year?  If not, why?  Lets rethink career day.

For educators, recall days in kindergarten when show and tell was held on a weekly basis?  Lets create this same interest around career day for our older students.

Ways to make this a reality:

Encourage students to interview a potential career day show and tell by means of YouTube.
Who are some of the professionals I have in mind you ask?  Stylists, Barbers, CSR/HR, Grocery Store Management, Professional certified Therapy dog trainers, and anyone else in the #Corporate world #BehindtheScenes.
Use networking available through online sites like volunteerspot to promote and solicit potential on site classroom interviews.

Reach out.  Reading this and wondering how to contribute and don't know who would be interested in interviewing you as a Career Day Professional? Reach out to someone at the school administration office directly.  Pitch this idea and be persistent, Educators have as much if not more red tape and office politics going on than we may be aware of.  

Upcoming November post Rethink Homelessness.  Teaser: How might this MTV series tie into the next post?

Field Day Friday Ramblings

 

So the chaos has began.  You're smack dab in the middle of the first weekend of back to school. Aside from studying, going to work out and being to class on time you need to find time to do laundry, sleep and keep somewhat a neat living area. 

 

Here's a short list styled post for someone to refer to if ever they totally forget how to reclaim their personal spaces after a busy school week.

 

Do you have the some of the needed supplies on hand for a field day in your room?  Very funny.  I caught you making references to the OITNB

Clorox wipes, Electronics screen cleaner, floor care, swifter dusting pads, laundry detergent, dish soap, disinfectant spray, baking soda.  Be sure to check the welcome package and resident guidelines before stocking up on any cleaning supplies.  Be sure to do some sort of check of the furniture conditions and stuff that you didn't bring before unpacking.  Normal wear and tear of outlets or foot traffic on the floors is expected so don't go nuts trying to entirely resurface the floors.  Rugs get nasty so don't hesitate replacing it or even better find a machine washable space rug and launder it every few months. 

 

How have you staged your room?  The easier you make the space to enter and exit, the easier you'll be able to keep a breathable living area.  Do you have people coming and going frequently?  Don't make it easy for someone to claim your space or belongings as their own.  This isn't a lesson easily taught but quickly learned.  

Do you have a kitchenette in your space?  Lucky you.  In theory a kitchenette is an area likely to have a  sink to wash dishes, an easily cleanable floor, counter space, cabinetry, and somewhere to plug in toasters, hot plates, microwaves, etc.  May or may not include refrigeration.  Include a specific cleaning caddy for this area in your shopping plan.  Dishwashing gloves, an apron, floor mat and reusable disposable cleaning cloths are good items to keep in stock.

 

Were you able to bring your clunker from home? #MyWorstCar  Stories were fun.  Keep your wheels clean.  Even if you're only bringing a bicycle to commute with. Follow this guide for easy bike cleaning and this for cleaning your car on the cheap. Keep it simple. Be reasonable with the car wash bicycle share program wash fundrasiser you've got in mind for rushing freshman...or not.  Have a cleaning caddy designated for keeping the your car and bike free of dirt buildup from the road and a nice place to sleep between work and class schedule.

So far we've discussed how to arrange your room for function, talk to roommate about best time to keep a cleaning schedule, supplies for a kitchenette cleaning caddy, a study/sleeping area cleaning caddy, and a caddy for your wheels.  Educators could also use this to plan their supply closets, teaching spaces and lounge areas.  Finding ways to keep your students accountable in this process is a valuable lesson.   
 

RV Thursday

Post by Virtual Volunteers of St. Louis.

Homeroom

#Upcycle Tweets

Silver and Sassy

Official tweets from this timeline include Campus Care Package, The New Mom Project, Supersleeper_RV, Ask Smithsonian, You're the Boss, Chic Rattle & Roll, Rolling Rack Boutique, College Cratez, OP: Care&Comfort, RV Travel Buddy, EDM Nurse Next Door, Care Package Drive, ElderCare Team, SLU Hospital, Primrose Retirement, OverDrive Libraries, STHellens RFC, HavenHouse ST Louis, CareQualityCommunity, Advancing Excellence, Senior Home Care, The Holiday Project, Pets on Wheels, Fun RVing, Visit Mississippi, Postal Museum, DisneyLiving, GoRVing, Hospitality Net, American Library Association, Barnes-Jewish, Roadtrip Nation, Gamers Outreach, DC Public Library, 10 News,  Books 4 Soldiers, Smithsonian, Disney Resort, Mail our Military, and NPR News

Tweets from https://twitter.com/stlvolunteers/lists/silver-and-sassy

Homeroom

Tweets by @plinkyprompts