Typically, I'm not a big volunteer kind of guy. What little spare time I have is usually reserved for reading or watching movies.
Recently I received an email from the Obama campaign with a video appeal from Michelle Obama linked to it. I briefly watched the video but what was more compelling was a link that was included. The website is called usaservice.org and it's a clearing house of sorts for volunteers looking to help out. I plugged in my zip code and several volunteer opportunities appeared on an interactive map. Suddenly I felt compelled to contribute some time. There was an event taking place Monday morning at a county park nearby. It required two hours of commitment walking the parks trails and picking up trash. The fruits of our labor would then be recycled. My thirteen year old son, Troyer, decided to join me so we signed up to be there and pitch in.
We showed up on a chilly morning at 9:00 AM to do our part. We met up with about two dozen people of varying ages, races, and economic situations. The event organizers were a very nice couple, Mary and Chuck Schubert. Mary is a park ranger in the national park system and Chuck is a retired Boeing engineer. They had everything set to go. We all signed in and recieved name tags and split into four groups to cover more ground. My son and I walked with Steve, who works at Pfizer and is from Michigan, his dog Blake, and Kevin who we later discovered is an out of work electronics worker. We covered a lot of ground, but quite frankly, it is a VERY clean park already. Troyer and I only filled about a half a kitchen-sized trash bag in a little more than an hour and a half.
Afterward Chuck and Mary invited everyone for coffee to the local St. Louis Bread Company restaurant. About eight or nine of us took them up on their offer. While we warmed up with some warm beverages we started to learn more about each other. Karen is a professional singer who offered Troyer encouragement with his love of theater. Chuck and Mary have been to a lot of national parks and shared their travel recommendations and adventures with us. Kevin is a very nice guy and I wish him the best in his search for new career and possibly going back to school. Troyer enjoyed the feeling that came with participating. I think it reinforced in him that there are a lot of nice people out there. I've never felt more like part of community.
This is one of the reasons I admire the Obama organization so much. They really know how to use the tools at their disposal. From facebook to twitter to asking for donations, they hit all the right notes. Now they possess a database of email addresses of people they can mobilize with a quick video email. Say what you will about race, I think the true change in this administration will be how they utilize that advantage. All I can say is that I have every confidence in our new president to bring us together.
Recently I received an email from the Obama campaign with a video appeal from Michelle Obama linked to it. I briefly watched the video but what was more compelling was a link that was included. The website is called usaservice.org and it's a clearing house of sorts for volunteers looking to help out. I plugged in my zip code and several volunteer opportunities appeared on an interactive map. Suddenly I felt compelled to contribute some time. There was an event taking place Monday morning at a county park nearby. It required two hours of commitment walking the parks trails and picking up trash. The fruits of our labor would then be recycled. My thirteen year old son, Troyer, decided to join me so we signed up to be there and pitch in.
We showed up on a chilly morning at 9:00 AM to do our part. We met up with about two dozen people of varying ages, races, and economic situations. The event organizers were a very nice couple, Mary and Chuck Schubert. Mary is a park ranger in the national park system and Chuck is a retired Boeing engineer. They had everything set to go. We all signed in and recieved name tags and split into four groups to cover more ground. My son and I walked with Steve, who works at Pfizer and is from Michigan, his dog Blake, and Kevin who we later discovered is an out of work electronics worker. We covered a lot of ground, but quite frankly, it is a VERY clean park already. Troyer and I only filled about a half a kitchen-sized trash bag in a little more than an hour and a half.
Afterward Chuck and Mary invited everyone for coffee to the local St. Louis Bread Company restaurant. About eight or nine of us took them up on their offer. While we warmed up with some warm beverages we started to learn more about each other. Karen is a professional singer who offered Troyer encouragement with his love of theater. Chuck and Mary have been to a lot of national parks and shared their travel recommendations and adventures with us. Kevin is a very nice guy and I wish him the best in his search for new career and possibly going back to school. Troyer enjoyed the feeling that came with participating. I think it reinforced in him that there are a lot of nice people out there. I've never felt more like part of community.
This is one of the reasons I admire the Obama organization so much. They really know how to use the tools at their disposal. From facebook to twitter to asking for donations, they hit all the right notes. Now they possess a database of email addresses of people they can mobilize with a quick video email. Say what you will about race, I think the true change in this administration will be how they utilize that advantage. All I can say is that I have every confidence in our new president to bring us together.
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