United We Serve

President and Mrs. Obama have announced a new White House initiative, United We Serve. Officially kicked off on June 22 at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service by Michelle in a brilliant speech, and running through September 11, which as been declared a day of remembrance and service, the initiative will ask Americans to serve - in whatever way is best for them - and then add service to their lives in a permanent way.

The goal is to reach a time when service is a given in our lives. When we help our neighbors who need it, when we choose to give time and energy to those causes we care about. Self-directed service is encouraged: clean up a park in your neighborhood or town, have a potluck for the elderly on your street, do an energy audit of your home and change out your lightbulbs and start unplugging the toaster when you aren't using it. Whatever you do, register it on http://serve.gov.

You can also contact a local nonprofit that needs help. But be prepared if that soup kitchen or homeless shelter or kids program is inundated with volunteers and isn't sure they can use you. Don't get annoyed. Nonprofits are struggling to keep up with everything going on, are less funded than last year, and often don't have the infrastructure to take on more volunteers. (Perhaps they need someone to organize the volunteers! Do you have that much time? Do that!)

Families! Encourage your kids to volunteer. Volunteer together as a family. Outdoor projects are perfect. Park clean-ups, invasive species removal, beach clean-ups, and graffiti removal are just a few ideas. If you'd like to do something RIGHT NOW without having to book it with an agency, find a nonprofit nearby your home who needs something, and make it at home! This is called portable volunteering and it's a great way to get the whole family involved. Contact the local animal shelter: could they use catbeds? If so, make no-sew catbeds stuffed with recycled plastic bags! Contact the local soup kitchen: could they use dental kits for guests (travel size toothpaste bundled with a tootbrush?)? Make them and deliver them. Just make sure that you ask what an organization needs first (don't make something and then try to figure out where to donate it) and how many they need. And once you make a commitment to deliver, make sure you do!

Perhaps you are already volunteering and you don't really know it! Are you the coach of the T-ball or little league team? Your daughter's Brownie Troop mom? Register those things and that time on serve.gov! Let the White House know how much you do for your town.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, the first state to have a cabinet position dedicated to volunteering and service, says that he didn't serve until he was asked. (Of course, those doing the asking were his in-laws Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics and Sergeant Shriver, founder of the Peace Corps, so he didn't have much choice!) Ask someone else to serve. Ask them to come with you, or ask them to help with something. People often don't know how to volunteer until someone else helps them to do so. The number one reason in the U.S. people give when asked why they don't serve is "Nobody asked me."

Talk to your local Hands On Network affiliate. These volunteer centers are across the United States and can get you connected to service. Find yours here. Boston Cares serves Greater Boston, and we will have a United We Serve volunteer challenge which will kick off right after the Independence Day holiday. Join us!

And 9/11. Finally, we know how to honor 9/11. On that day from now on, we as a country will remember those lost on that day and serve in their honor. We will come together as communities and neighbors and help. What better way to commemorate a tragedy than to work together for those who need it most?

That we have an administration this dedicated to service in the United States is no small thing. We have had a culture of service in the U.S. for many years, and in fact it is how we even came to be in the first place. But in these times, the worst we've seen economically in almost a century, it is up to us to renew that culture. To remember where we came from and help each other instead of shoring up alone to weather this storm. And the goal this time is for it not to be temporary, but to become a way of life for all of us. Coming out of 8 years of war and revenge and "if you're not with us, you're against us", into this feels lighter somehow. It's still a lot of work, though. There's a lot to be done. But the more people who do it, the more who help, the easier it will be.

I for one, am signing up to join the White House in changing our nation. Won't you join me?

San Francisco

I love San Francisco, almost as much (it's a VERY close second) as Boston. I got to spend 4 days there this week for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service and remembered how much I love it.

And, Michelle Obama spoke at the conference. What's better than that? More on United We Serve, the White House's new initiative later.

826

A few weeks back, I went to a fundraising event for 826 Boston. I've known this center is in Boston for a while now. I am also familiar with the history of 826. I can't remember now why I know this. Perhaps because I'm a little bit fascinated with Dave Eggers.

I read Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius way back when it first came out. I think my mom may've passed it along to me. It was odd and interesting and I liked it. Then Eggers, the author, fell off my radar screen for a good long while until one day, in the mail from Amazon, I received a gift from my book-giving friend Robin, What is the What. What an absolutely amazing book. I loved every minute. And then, my roommate at the time had McSweeney's lying around.

Around this same time is when 826 Boston came on the scene. Okay, a brief history of 826. Dave Eggers and some others wanted to start a writing center in San Francisco in the Mission District (one of the San Fran neighborhoods most in need of this kind of thing). They found the perfect space at 826 Valencia Street. But it was zoned for retail. So they all put their heads together and decided to sell pirate supplies. In the back of the store was the after-school tutoring center for kids in the neighborhood. The pirate store did so well, it paid for a bunch of the needs of the center! As other 826 centers have opened up around the country, they each have a store out front. Boston is the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute, where one can purchase all your needs for hunting bigfoot and other mythical creatures. It's pretty cool.

So, back to this event I went to. It involved Steve Almond, Julia Glass and Dave Eggers. They did the intros of the student authors who were published in 826 Boston's first book, 2% of 2% of All the World's Stories. Each child came up to the stage, sat in a big easy chair, and read their story to the over 300 people in the room. One kid was 7! It was so wonderful. It made my soul lighter. I asked that 7-year-old to sign my book afterwards!

Then I heard about a special screening of Away We Go, a new Sam Mendes film starring John Krasinski (the Office) and Maya Rudolph (SNL), written by Dave Eggers and his wife Vendela Vida. So of course I bought a ticket to that. All the money went to 826 Boston. And I knew that Eggers would be there to do Q&A at the end, but lo and behold, so were John and Maya. So cool! They are doing special screenings all over the country to benefit 826 centers, just because Dave Eggers wrote the movie. Pretty awesome.

Another note. 826 Centers only serve the schools right in their direct neighborhoods, that are often the most in need in the city overall. 826 Boston is in Egleston Square in Roxbury and serves elementary, middle and high schools (specific ones) in Roxbury and JP. They also don't serve any kid that wants to come in. The kids are selected, and the Boston center serves about 35 right now. Once they have some more money, they will double that number. The kids all have a binder that tracks everything they are doing while in the center. They finish homework first, and then have to read for 30 minutes, and then they can work on a creative project. It's all very structured and very results-driven.

The Center does four types of things. First, the after school tutoring. Second, field trips, where a class comes from the school to the center to write a book together with an illustrator, a publisher, and them. Each kid goes home with a bound book of which they write the ending. Third, programs in classrooms - volunteers go to the class in the school and run a program there. Finally, workshops, held on evenings and weekends in the center. They also run summer "writing camp" programs.

I went last Saturday to a volunteer orientation at the Bigfoot Institute (826 Boston). It was great. I can't do after school tutoring because it's 3:30 - 6:30 during the week and I can't get there from work. But, they need workshop presenters. You create the workshop and then teach it to a group of kids on evenings or weekends. Right up my alley. I submitted a proposal that same day for August (when they noted they need workshop presenters every day for the summer camp program). I heard back from them yesterday and we're going to finalize everything next week. I'm very excited to share writing and creativity with a group of 8-10-year-olds.

And what do I get? That lighter soul feeling again, if I'm lucky!