I’ve got a “Project of the Week” – opportunity #2

Every weekend, an OU organization called “Project of the Week” volunteers.  Every weekend!  This is great because if you’re a student like myself, and have enormous amounts of studying, reading, and participating to do as it is, you can still set aside time to volunteer.  You can take a few hours one day each weekend (hours that you would probably spend “taking a break from studying,” since you had such a demanding week) and give away some of your time, energy, and kindness to those who could really use it.  After all, though it may not be a couple hours bonding with your pillow and using the television set to melt your brain, volunteering is NOT studying.  As you know.  Volunteering is way more fun and immediately rewarding, and you would not believe the amazing people you can meet.  Studying is important, but so is giving back.  Why not do both?

The projects this week, for Saturday September 27th, are really cool.  The first is from 9:30 am – 12 noon, and involves ensuring that the Homecoming Parade is environmentally friendly.  Volunteers will be making sure parade-watchers recycle.  Not hard work, guys, especially if you were planning on attending the parade anyway!  The second project is very similar, and especially exciting if you’re a football FANATIC like I am.  Volunteers will be helping ensure that people recycle at the game.  And don’t worry, you’ll definitely get to watch the game as you work.  This project is from 1:30 pm – 5 pm.  The third project is from 9:30 am – 1 pm, and volunteers will be working with the non-profit organization ACEnet at the Art of Ohio Regional Arts Celebration.  Jobs include helping artists unload their stuff, or passing out flyers and promoting the event at the Homecoming Parade that morning.  For all you artsy folk, this is an incredible way to meet some artists!

I understand this blog is very late-in-posting, but it was most important to me to spread the word about Project of the Week and give you a taste of what their projects are like.  From now on, I will be blogging further in advance about their projects in weeks coming.  If you’re interested in volunteering for any of these, or their other projects each weekend, simply go to www.ohio.edu/communityservice, click on “PROJECT OF THE WEEK,” and that will send you straight to a list of projects for that weekend.  At the bottom of that page is a form you can fill out and submit if you’re interested in volunteering for any of those projects.  For further information, contact Jay Helmer at 740-593-4007, or shoot an e-mail to community.service@ohio.edu.

This is a perfect (and EASY) way for the busy student to volunteer, without fear of piling too much on his or her plate.  I hope to see you guys tomorrow afternoon.  Hopefully, I’ll be the one asking you to recycle your water bottle in between screams for our Bobcats!  It’s not hard work, it’s not boring, and it’s not time-consuming.  So go out and volunteer. Go out and Do Something Different.

Opportunity #1

This is just going to be a quick blurb about a volunteer opportunity I heard about for Ohio University students.  This will be a long-term volunteer project at My Sister’s Place.  My Sister’s Place is a shelter for women who have escaped domestic violence.  Most of these women have children.  Volunteers are needed for face-to-face interaction with the mothers and children, childcare, light household chores, and any other work that might need to be done. 

Training begins in October, and will be once a week.  After training, volunteers will be expected to donate four hours a week for the rest of the school year, and the shelter will be able to work around winter and any other breaks.  The building is within walking distance from campus, so transportation should not be an issue.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, you will be required to have a TB (Tuberculosis) test taken (which, for OU students, is free at the Hudson Health Center), as well as a background check, which My Sister’s Place will provide.  When you contact My Sister’s Place to volunteer, you will be asked a few screening questions (such as why you chose to volunteer at a domestic violence shelter, etc).

This is an INCREDIBLE opportunity to get involved outside of the OU campus, and to give just a little of your time.  If you’re interested, PLEASE contact My Sister’s Place at 740-594-8337.

I’ll be posting more community service opportunities as I hear of them, but until then, go out and get involved, and do something different.

What this is all about.

My hope is that “Do Something Different” does not immediately remind anyone (or maybe this is just me) of the Dairy Queen “DQ Something Different” plug and inspire you to go buy ice cream.  That is not my intent.  Instead, it is to inspire readers to literally do something different, something that they normally would not do – maybe because they did not want to, because they did not think they were capable of it, or even because the idea had never occurred to them.  I want to inspire readers to get involved in their community.  If you are or have ever been a freshman in college, you have likely had the phrase “get involved” pulled through your ears countless times.  This freshman college experience is still relatively new to me, but I am taking the advice and getting involved, and I would love to help others do the same. 

There are so many methods of getting involved, but community service and volunteer action is one of the most beneficial and rewarding things you can do- for yourself and for your community.  Partnership and even some selflessness is key in a thriving community, and the volunteer work does not have to be devastatingly time-consuming.  The volunteer options are endless.  So, the focus of this blog is to incite action.  I have a lot of volunteer experience, but the point is not for me to blog about everything that I have done so I can feel superior for a while each day.  I can mention some past volunteer experiences, comment on the experience and knowledge I gained, and then, most importantly, give you ideas on what you can do to volunteer as well.  And I promise, each post will NOT be this long!

I will be posting new volunteer opportunities as often as I can, but obviously I alone cannot find out about every volunteer effort in Athens, Ohio, so I encourage anyone who reads this blog to keep their eyes and ears open as well.  If you hear of a project that needs workers, feel free to comment on the blog so everyone reading can have the opportunity to help out.  If you see an area that needs cleaning up, let me know, and we can get in contact with someone who can help us get that project done.  I understand the challenges and academic stresses the college student faces, and we all know that time is incredibly valuable, so the amount of time you put in is a completely personal decision.  There is no pressure to volunteer or even comment on this blog, BUT (yes, you knew that word was coming) what you will gain from volunteering is priceless knowledge, insight, and compassion.

I can also incorporate facts about poverty and volunteer service (as well as plugs for other volunteer organizations if need be) into this blog.  Any information I think is related to community involvement and compassion for others will most likely be written about.  The blog is in no way restricted to lecture about how badly humanity needs to be rescued.  That is boring and not very effective.  This is simply a call-to-action, a simple, no-strings-attached request that you get out, get involved, and do something different.