Boys and Girls Club
My summary:
The Boys and Girls club in my neighborhood has been a great place for kids to be active and to participate in sports or activities that they might have otherwise never been able to. At its core, though, it is supposed to be a support system for kids that may not have support in their own homes. Volunteers help with things like games and sports, but they also provide an example for younger children to look up to.
Mission
To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
Core Beliefs
A Boys & Girls Club Provides:
A safe place to learn and grow...
Ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals...
Life-enhancing programs and character development experiences...
Hope and opportunity.
To volunteer:
http://www.bgca.org/whoweare/Pages/FindaClub.aspx
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
For US
In three months I will graduate from college.
One of my good friends will be going to China to teach English.
Another one of my friends will be moving to Africa to work in an orphanage.
One of my friends is in East Asia right now working with sex trade victims.
These are all incredible works and I'm so proud of my friends for wanting to go into the world and serve others. It awesome.
But.
I found myself wondering what kind of work in America needs to be done. What can we do within the United States? And so I searched the internet... and didn't find much. I found a ton of opportunities to do volunteer work abroad. But it was much harder to find information about service work in America.
Now, I'll be honest. I'm not particularly patriotic. I love America and always have, but I definitely don't harbor the kind of patriotism that some of my friends feel. What I do feel is this:
I think we're making a mistake sending some of our most talented students and workers and leaders into other countries to deal with problems that we have in America.
There are orphanages here.
There are illiterate people here.
There are children with Aids, children who are hungry, children who are suffering every day... here.
Now I'm not saying that we should just care about American problems and ignore issues in other countries. First of all, that's not the way that America deals with things. We are a country of citizens that want to help everyone. We like being big brother and supporting other nations (albeit perhaps not always for the purest reasons). Second of all, obviously there is so much good that can be done all around the world. If you feel passionately about that service, by all means, do it.
What I'm saying is this: the romanticized nature of service being "somewhere else" bothers me. And I would like to make it easier for students to find the opportunities that exist in our homeland.
Here's the point.
FOR US is a resource. I'll post a new opportunity in America each week here, with any information I can find about it. Hopefully it will at least get people thinking.
Think about what you can do in America.
Think about what we can do for our people.
Think about what you can do FOR US.
One of my good friends will be going to China to teach English.
Another one of my friends will be moving to Africa to work in an orphanage.
One of my friends is in East Asia right now working with sex trade victims.
These are all incredible works and I'm so proud of my friends for wanting to go into the world and serve others. It awesome.
But.
I found myself wondering what kind of work in America needs to be done. What can we do within the United States? And so I searched the internet... and didn't find much. I found a ton of opportunities to do volunteer work abroad. But it was much harder to find information about service work in America.
Now, I'll be honest. I'm not particularly patriotic. I love America and always have, but I definitely don't harbor the kind of patriotism that some of my friends feel. What I do feel is this:
I think we're making a mistake sending some of our most talented students and workers and leaders into other countries to deal with problems that we have in America.
There are orphanages here.
There are illiterate people here.
There are children with Aids, children who are hungry, children who are suffering every day... here.
Now I'm not saying that we should just care about American problems and ignore issues in other countries. First of all, that's not the way that America deals with things. We are a country of citizens that want to help everyone. We like being big brother and supporting other nations (albeit perhaps not always for the purest reasons). Second of all, obviously there is so much good that can be done all around the world. If you feel passionately about that service, by all means, do it.
What I'm saying is this: the romanticized nature of service being "somewhere else" bothers me. And I would like to make it easier for students to find the opportunities that exist in our homeland.
Here's the point.
FOR US is a resource. I'll post a new opportunity in America each week here, with any information I can find about it. Hopefully it will at least get people thinking.
Think about what you can do in America.
Think about what we can do for our people.
Think about what you can do FOR US.
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