What do you do to make a difference in the world?

Parent Cafe
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<p>This is an opportunity to make others aware of the issues or charities you support and also give yourself a pat on the back for your time and energy. It is not important how much we give of ourselves. It is simply important that we give something.</p>

<p>Our family supports our local parks system both with money and time. We purchase North American hardwoods for our local park and care for the trees. One of the most important things our family does is watch for and prevent vandalism of the park. Once unsupervised kids see respect for nature they become respectful of it themselves. I have many senior high school students who help care for our park and make and keep it beautiful.
I also support our local S.P.C.A…</p>

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<p>I have done very little in the last two years. I used to be far more involved via a local voluntarism organization, but I took a break from that. Now, other than some professional associations where I’ve served on steering committees, I’ve done little but write the occasional check to charity and work elections (which is paid, but it’s a sufficient pain in the neck, especially given that I already have a fulltime job, that I consider it “service.”)</p>

<p>Recently someone asked me to run for public office to represent our township on a county board. When I got done laughing, I realized that I really wasn’t doing anything for my community or the world, and it’s time to get back into it. I’m NOT running for office (that would’ve been a terrible fit) but I have to do something. I’ll read responses with some interest, since I’m looking for ideas.</p>

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<p>Working on any steering committee is to be commended. Can involve so much work.</p>

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<p>but I’ve been involved in volunteering all my life, or most of it anyway. I started at age 14 as a candystriper. It was definitely my mother’s influence as she’d been a lifelong volunteer and still is in her 70’s! All of my volunteering as a teen and through h/s was related to kids, both at the hospital and as a volunteer counsellor at a summer camp.</p>

<p>In college, I continued the hospital volunteer in a pediatric ward for eight hours a week. I loved that time in my life and as difficult as it was to go to that ward, it was some of the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done. Over the years, location, opportunity, and life have provided me with other volunteer options. I was very involved in my Ds schools all through their school careers, starting with the co-op nursery school they attended. When they were in elementary school, I spent about 20 hours a week at the school. I helped in the computer lab; did enrichment projects with small groups; listened to kids read; assisted with art projects; worked in the school library one day a week; was on the PTA exec every year, including two stints as president; was volunteer coordinator one year; did safe arrival one morning a week; organized weekly pizza, hot dog, burger, and sub days; raised money and convinced(fought with!) the town to put up a new swing set/playground equipment for free; went on innumerable field trips; attended seminars and conferences as a parent rep in our district; held bookfairs; etc. At one of the h/s, I was also on the Parent Council but obviously the activities were different.</p>

<p>I have volunteered for 17 years at the soccer club where my kids play (and when we lived elsewhere I did the same). Was a team manager for several years; a club convenor responsible for one age group of approx. 300 players, this involved making up teams, recruiting coaches, distributing uniforms and schedules, attending games, keeping records, ensuring that teams are well-balanced (an almost impossible task!). I also helped with the annual registration before it was done online. Picture the parents of 12,000 kids lining up for two weekends in February to sign up their kids. </p>

<p>For several years, I’ve volunteered as a buddy to individuals who are suffering from AIDS. This is different with each person, but usually involves taking them to medical appointments, shopping, just out for coffee to get them out of their homes, sometimes just sitting and chatting, and sometimes assisting with preparing meals.</p>

<p>My H and I are involved two weekends a year with Habitat for Humanity. His employer builds a house every year and for two weekends, the executives and their families are the crew. He is also a member of the United Way cabinet in our city which means many hours of soliciting donations from colleagues and business associates, meetings, visiting agencies which receive support from United Way, etc.</p>

<p>My kids have done different kinds of things. These have included the local foodbank; a literacy group; volunteering in a local school; a six week trip to Africa to teach, build a school, and share a cultural exchange; a women’s shelter; and the Humane Society.</p>

<p>My experience has been that volunteering is much more popular, and prevalent, here in Canada than it was in any of the U.S. cities where we lived. Very few of my wide circle of friends here do not volunteer in some way.</p>

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<p>as Stuart smalley would say if you can’t be a good example- perhaps you can be a horrible warning.</p>

<p>Seriously- I quit my job to be a thorn in the side of the school district and to drag them kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
( I also tutor kids)
But I am just waiting till I am old enough to wander the streets and plant lupines :wink:
<a href=“http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/rumphius.html[/url]”>http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/rumphius.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Hey, EK4, remember lupines are an invasive weed in a few places. Me, I sprinkle native wildflower seeds in the late spring. In the middle of the night. (I also plant blueberries.)</p>

<p>What do I do to improve the world?</p>

<p>I work as a substitute teacher, which is not quite the same as volunteering in the schools, but just as important, IMO (note omission of “humble”–humble I’m not).</p>

<p>I also teach dog training classes. A well-trained dog is less likely to end up euthanized at a shelter.</p>

<p>I plant tomatoes, herbs, berries and fruit trees in my yard and don’t try to keep the birds out. I run a fountain in my front yard all summer so that the birds have a clean water source (and because I like watching them). I don’t use any chemicals in my garden and I try to educate my neighbors in how they can garden without them too; I give their kids produce from my garden so they can see that not all food comes from big farms or the grocery store. (Yes, I’m one of those people.)</p>

<p>I give money to schools in Tanzania and to leukemia/lymphoma research, I donate my time and money to local schools, and I try to do less damage to the environment each passing year than I did the year before.</p>

<p>I vote for Democrats.</p>

7

<p>Hey dmd! You are a good citizen and a great writer! I love that Emeraldkity! What great comments!
Hoedown: If I were you and have ‘the gift’ I would run for office because this is your one great opportunity to improve the situation. I frequently go to township meetings just so my voice is heard. (And I’m not being arrogant here.) I go and speak so the new blood coming in is aware there are old timers here who really care about the township and sometimes there are issues which have been done before they should be aware of. Some projects have succeeded and some have failed but it is important newly and some not so newly elected officials know the history .Also on occasion elected officials come in with their own aggenda, therefore all the more important to attend.</p>

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<p>Hey, EK4, remember lupines are an invasive weed in a few places. Me, I sprinkle native wildflower seeds in the late spring. In the middle of the night. (I also plant blueberries.)</p>

<p>really? ballard market is selling lupines for $20 a gallon pot
( Our backyard neighbors have a huge goldenrod shrub that they planted- they are from the east coast- don’t know if that is the reason- but I tried to tell them that people don’t usally * plant it * here)</p>

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<p>I have done various volunteer jobs over the years–from Cub Scout den leader and driver for Boy Scouts when they go scouting for food to tutoring and occasional political stuff. Right now I am a Sunday school teacher for grades 5-6 at our church, and that can be a challenge at times. I really want to do more, but with a son in a college that doesn’t meet need and a flexible job where I can add hours, I spend more time working than I would like. </p>

<p>ek4, I saw some beautiful wild lupine up on Mt. Hood today while hiking. Lots of other wildflowers, too, and rhododendrons in bloom. The wild mosquitoes I could have done without. :(</p>

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<p>I have also volunteered for many things since my candystriper days. Maybe too much. I have a nice life, and a lot of free time, so I feel obligated to give something back.</p>

<p>The biggest was our 5 years / 25 kids foster parenting days. That springboarded into several other unpaid jobs, including working the child abuse hotline, acting as a “surrogate parent” (a legal thing in Georgia schools) for kids in state custody who are in special ed, editing the county foster care newsletter, writing and publishing the DFACS annual report, and chairing a legislative committee to address fostering concerns.</p>

<p>I’ve also done the gamut of PTA (treasurer), school volunteer, soccer mom, band/orchestra activities, church activities (teacher, directed kids’ choir), and so on. It used to be very hard for me to say no. (I’m better now, but I’m a sucker where kids are concerned.)</p>

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<p>Lupine as invasive weeed: <a href=“http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/homegarden/stories/060618lupines.shtml[/url]”>http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/homegarden/stories/060618lupines.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I am amused that they have a Miss Rumphius festival AND want to remove the non-native lupine from Acadia National Park.</p>

<p>EK4: while lupine IS native around here (Pacific NW), it’s not native everywhere, which is the issue whenever anyone plants their favorite “wildflowers” unless they’re fairly careful.</p>

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<p>Try to speak with a moral voice and as forthrightly as possible.</p>

<p>Whether it be in my work or discourse.</p>

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<p>Why does everyone always assume that “making a difference in the world” is always a positive difference. What about the bad, dark, evil, suffering, and destruction that occurs everyday by people making a negative difference.</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure the bad outweighs the good, so I’m hoping for complacency.</p>

14

<p>Well, mikenthemaddog66, you may be right, but I’m not sure that complacency in the face of realization of all of the people making a negative difference in the world is an entirely rational response.</p>

<p>I didn’t do anything of a volunteer nature before I had kids. Since then, I guess I’ve become imbued with the idea that my main job is to try to make the world a better place for them and their friends - even if only a little bit. My own mom used to intone “Charity begins at home” in response to any mention of the kind of people she referred to as “do-gooders” but it seems to me that if once you take care of the home hearth you still have some gas left in the tank it doesn’t hurt to venture out into the community, and even into the world, if that’s your bent, to help out a little if you can.</p>

<p>My first foray into volunteer work was serving on the homeowner’s board of my neighborhood - now there’s an under-appreciated and over-criticized bit of community service! From there I went to coaching Little League and serving on the board of the league for five years or so, then into an appointed (and unpaid) position on a municipal commission, and after a couple of years did a little more baseball coaching. Nothing earth-shaking, but I’m a believer in adding a little bit of good to the world even if it doesn’t suddenly and dramatically change things.</p>

<p>Oh, and I’ve converted an old pickup truck to run on electric batteries. Less pollution, less contribution to global warming, and a fun project to boot.</p>

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<p>Mikenthemaddog66, some of us leverage our professions, even in private industry, to try to rid the world of the worst of the worst, or at least slow the bad stuff down. We’re being very opportunistic as we’re profiting from it, so maybe in a sense we’re predatory, but at least I like to think we’re making a little bit of headway.</p>

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<p>I fear I’m being misinterperted. I wish for complacentcy in total, to stop the bad from spreading, because more often than not, when someone tries to make the situation better, it becomes worse.</p>

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<p>I don’t think so. Here’s an example - take a look at this site, run by the South African police (I think): <a href=“http://www.419legal.org%5B/url%5D”>www.419legal.org</a>. Read some of the stories on the forum and note all the people they’re helping - and the frausters they’re slowing down, if not stopping. </p>

<p>What you have here is a group of people working almost obsessively to stop fraud with whatever tools they have. Extrapolate this out - there are maybe 2,000 similar sites in progress run by various groups around the world. Are you saying they should shut down, go home and stay complacent? </p>

<p>I need some help understanding why people should be complacent.</p>

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<p>Most are inexperienced, incompentent, and unmotivated. Sure, I do not doubt that there are some spectacular people who do wonderful things to make the world a “better” place, but then again there are more who don’t, or if they try to do end up screwing things up more, these don’t tend to be the people on sites like this, but your average everyday do-gooders, who a totalitarians at heart. </p>

<p>Also ask yourself for whom are you making the world a better place?</p>

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<p>Well, we make the world better for the mentally challenged adults that live in the adult home at the end of our block. We started an ethnic restaurant club with them–which means we take them out to different ethnic restaurants every month. They aren’t allowed to have dogs, so they visit our (naughty) dog nearly every day–which gives them a chance to have a chat on our porch. Sometimes they walk the dog for a bit of pocket change. Sometimes we go and watch them play sports. One has been to the Special Olympics. (dmd–are you a dog whisperer?)</p>

<p>In the past month, we have started taking the boys across the street out to some very ‘boyish’ movies such as X-Men. Our boys are too old for that and their bi-polar dad hung himself in their garage six years ago. I invite their whole family to dinner to Sunday dinner four or five times a year.</p>

<p>My family had a habit of visiting older relatives on Sundays. My formerly liberal dad was a Block to Block leader and helped start up day care centers in the inner city. We went along as needed. Both of my paretns still do important volunteering in the communtiy. My first official volunteering might have been as a candy striper. I also participated in a wide range of volunteering in high school.</p>

<p>I’ve been on the Board of a few organizations and sometimes loved the experience. I am a creative wild card which means I work well with dynamic, expansionist boards and not so well with staid ones. I’ve raised money for Historic Home preservation. I’ve helped launch a couple of charity events and projects at my son’s current school. We donate money to various charities as well. </p>

<p>I’m a big believer in pro-active charity at home which is why I make an effort to lend a hand or an ear or a meal or prayers to needy neighbors, friends and family.</p>

20

<p>Over the past 14 years, I have worked to focus public and especially physician awareness on the medical aspects of autism, a disease that is estimated to affect 1 out of every 166 births. I especially support and have contributed to research that explores the immunological aspects of autism. </p>

<p>For those who are interested in this subject, here is a link that summarizes studies/findings suggestive of immunological abnormalities in autism: <a href=“http://www.aaaai.org/aadmc/inthenews/news/2005archive/autism.html[/url]”>http://www.aaaai.org/aadmc/inthenews/news/2005archive/autism.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;