Moving Up In The World

Well, gone are the days of endless wonder as to what I want to do with my life...for now. Today, I completed my first day at work on my real, grown-up job, and I loved it. There was so much to take in and lots to be done, but I really think this will turn out to be a great fit for me.

So what is it that I do, exactly? Great question. My title is Volunteer Coordinator, and my job description is essentially to be determined...intimidating, right? This is a brand new position, and all I (and my boss!) really know is that I need to find, recruit, and maintain volunteers for some awesome programs in four counties, and perhaps an additional three. I'll be talking, driving, calling, emailing, and organizing like mad. I'll be writing my own job description as I shape and mold the position into something vital to the organization. Breathe. I must remember to breathe.

At this point, easier said than done.

The good news is that I have volunteered since I can remember. I love it. Volunteering could be a career path for me if it weren't for the fact that I actually need to, you know, survive. I've been that volunteer wiping down nasty food-covered lunch tables and I've been the volunteer passing out prizes or meeting some awesome people. I've volunteered with kids, cancer patients, seniors, kids with disabilities, people with mental illnesses, and poverty-stricken people of all kinds of backgrounds. You name it, I've probably volunteered with it--or know someone who has. Here's to hoping all of that gives me some sort of special insight as to what makes volunteers tick, what tugs at their heartstrings, and what it is that they love.

Oh yeah, and maybe that psychology degree will come in handy. Let me take a  moment to point out how excited I am to actually be able to use my degrees to help people. It always makes me sad when people can't use the degrees they worked so hard and paid so much to get. Boo.

So fingers crossed that I can knock this job out of the park and learn a lot along the way...preferably not the hard way, but life is funny about that sometimes, huh?

I'm A Soldier!

For a couple weeks now, I have been working at the Salvation Army with a special group of kids who need some extra direction in life. Whether that means helping with homework, tutoring, or being a consistent person in their lives, it's a big job...and I love every moment of it. Every day is overwhelming in its own way, and I come home exhausted frequently, but I am so happy working there.

Of course, it's not a career for me, but while I'm looking for something more permanent, I can't think of anything more well-suited for me. I've come to find out that the things I am best at doing are working with kids and working for a better world through philanthropy. What I love so much about this job is that I am doing both! It's the kind of thing I would do on a volunteer basis--and what's better than getting paid to do something you would do on a weekend or in your free time? Not much, I'd say.

After graduating earlier this year, I found that I wasn't, and still am not, sure "what I want to be when I grow up." Needless to say, that fact made it a little hard to figure out where to send job applications and completely lacked direction in my ever-changing life plan. I'm very grateful to the "very formidable Marcia," a local journalist's wife, and friend of my mother's who mentioned the job opening at the Salvation Army. I am quite sure I would not have thought of working there for quite some time, if at all.

Yesterday, I put in a few extra hours to help people fill out applications to be a holiday Bell Ringer, you know, the people who stand outside your local mall with donation cans. It was nearly heartbreaking to see people need help to read the application or to have people ask me to write for them since they hadn't really mastered reading and writing. However, as hard as it was to fathom a life of illiteracy, I couldn't help but admire them. Here were people who had lost jobs, some who had done time in prison for various reasons, and others who wanted to be able to buy their kids a Christmas present. They weren't too proud to stand in the frigid Michigan weather during the winter to make that happen. They weren't too proud to ask for help. They were determined. They weren't laying down and wallowing in self-pity. No, instead, they were willing to work, wherever, whenever, to start over, to have a happy Christmas, to make the next house payment.

It's one of my favorite things about America-the hard-workers who refuse to stop in the face of a bleak economic future. They give a particular zest to life that I hope I can also exude. While all the protests happen across the country, while many people are expressing their discontent by marching Wall Street or getting arrested, I have a great respect for those who take that same time to work, or at least try to. Rather than spending time asking for wages, they're actually earning them or putting in applications so they may be able to. To me, that's America. I'm here to work for my lifestyle, who's with me?

That said, I believe there are people who need a boost, and that's why I'm so passionate about philanthropy. I am willing to give some of what I have so they can have a chance at achieving their own dreams. So, I couldn't be happier to announce that I am a Salvation Army Soldier, and I hope as the holiday season approaches, we can all find it in our hearts to do something good for others while we work for our own good.

What the Doctor Ordered

Sometimes, a good day of volunteering is just what I need to get my head back in the game.

On Sunday, I woke up at 4:45 in the morning, stumbled blindly around my house for a while until I got my coffee, and through sleep-deprived, squinty-eyes, I headed out with a couple friends to volunteer at the 7th annual golf event benefiting The Alexander Foundation. We arrived a little before 6:00 am and wiped the morning dew off of the carts, attached the team numbers, and had VIP tickets to the Mosquito Festival that was in full force.

96 golfers came out to have a good time and benefit
The Alexander Foundation!

 

The golfers arrived in flocks a little before 8:00 and other volunteers registered them and sent them to me. I then handed them a free, awesome polo shirt that proudly displays "The Alexander Foundation" on the front. I loved joking with a few of the golfers, but most of all, I loved knowing that I was spending my day doing what I could to help kids with cranio-facial disabilities.

The little boy who inspired the creation of the foundation, Alexander, suffers from Cloverleaf Syndrome (find out more on the Alexander Foundation's website). 

By the time I made it home around 10:00 pm, I was exhausted and felt completely unable to stand up, let alone move around, but I felt more satisfied than I have in a while.

Moral of the story:
Frustrated with an unsatisfying job? Annoyed that you can't find a job? Looking for a way to mix things up a little and do some good in your community? Volunteer! It's an incredible boost of psychological energy, and you can make life a little easier for someone who needs it.

And you could start a mosquito-killing contest. I got 3 in 10 minutes. Take that, mosquitoes!