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Posts Tagged ‘week 5’

Weeks 5 & 6 of Reed’s Year of Volunteering: Yachad DC

Posted in Volunteering, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2011| 1 Comment »

Before I get to this week’s post, I want to let you know about a great opportunity for those of you in the DC area to join me on a day of service.  Every year Greater DC Cares holds Servathon, an amazing event where more than 8,000 people come together to complete a variety of service projects.

This year the event is Saturday, April 16th.  Trust me, after you submit your taxes on the 15th, you will be ready to do some good!  I am leading a team and encourage you to sign up to join me.  Click here, sign up and choose to join a team.  Then when prompted with the list of available teams, scroll down to the bottom and you should find team Year of Giving!  We’ll do a half-day of volunteering and then meet up with all the other service teams for a happy hour (or two)!

DSC_0295.jpgYou will notice that this blog post shows Week 5 and 6 service days…that’s because I did two days of volunteering with this organization.  Yachad is a DC organization whose mission it is to repair and rebuild lower-income neighborhoods by engaging construction and real estate professionals and hundreds of volunteers to repair housing, renovate storefronts, and create safer community spaces.

What I like about the work that Yachad does is that the volunteers work alongside the community members they are helping.  It’s a very small group and they do some pretty amazing work on a very modest budget.

In order to support their work, they host a film festival called Our City Film Festival.  Showcasing films that focus on our nation’s capital, the two-day event is a must see for DC residents and film enthusiasts.  Saturday evening things kicked off with a launch party followed by a day of films on Sunday.  I volunteered both Saturday evening and all day on Sunday.

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Christylez Bacon performing at the kick-off party.

Saturday was awesome.  The kick-off was hosted at RFD, a fixture in the Gallery Place neighborhood that features hundreds of beers.  The highlight of the evening was a performance by Grammy nominated recording artist Christylez Bacon, a progressive hip-hop artist who stunned audiences with his truly unique performance.  Keep an eye out for him and make it a point to see him if you can.

My job there was to basically do anything that Film Festival Director Kendra Rubinfeld told me to do.  Mostly I checked people’s tickets and took photographs of the evening’s festivities.  It was a little embarrassing when Kendra corrected me on the pronunciation of the word Yachad.  It’s pronounced “YAH hahd”, not “YAH shod” as I was walking around saying.  Thank goodness she corrected me before I went around butchering the name even more!

Then the next day the event moved literally next door to the Goethe-Institut.  There was fantastic line up of films and everyone that I met raved about the films and the event in general.  Kendra did an amazing job.  The evening wrapped up with the premier showing of TLC’s reality show DC Cupcakes.  After the screening, the stars of the show – Sophie and Katherine – handed out some of their delicious cupcake creations at a champagne reception.

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Sophie (left) and Katherine (right) pause for a photograph with Kendra next to some of their sensational cup cakes.use for a photograph in front of some of the tasty c

All in all this was a very fun two days of volunteering.  I was so impressed with this small but mighty nonprofit.  So many people think about helping rebuild communities when natural disasters strike like Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti, but Yachad president Roxanne Littner reminded me, “We have our own New Orleans right here!”  She’s right too.  There are plenty of communities in the DC area that desperately need support.  I am going to work on a future Yachad construction project.  If you too want to help them, click here to find out more information or drop me a note and I will let you know when I will be volunteering again with them.

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Mmmm...hungry now?

I can’t say enough about this organization and the professional manner in which the film festival was run.  I learned that the word Yachad means “together” in Hebrew, but based on the staff and other volunteers that pour their hearts into this organization, you could have just as easily believed it meant “love.”

If you would like to see more photos from the film festival, click here.

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Week 5 Kindness Investor: Mary J.

Posted in Kindness Investors, tagged , , , , , , on January 27, 2011| 4 Comments »

Mary with her husband Henry celebrating his birthday last October in Curacao.

Name: Mary J

Age? 50

Where do you live? Houston, TX

Where were you born? Houston native, born and raised

What’s the highest level of education you have completed? BA, Journalism, Photojournalism from University of Houston

Do you have a family? Yes! Great husband and best friend, Henry; no kids; Jack, the smartest shelter dog in the world; cats Fritz and Smoke – one shelter, one feral; seven brothers and sisters; lots of brilliant nieces and nephews.  Henry and I both come from big Catholic families who lived within 10 miles of each other for over 50 years and never met until Henry was 29 and I was 32.

My 87-year-old mother lived with us for over two years after my father died in March 2008.  She temporarily moved out recently, starting a 6 month “road trip”, staying with other siblings through the summer.

How did you hear about the Year of Giving? Your post on 29Gifts.org

How long have you been unemployed? Since May 2008

What happened? American National Red Cross had its largest layoff in history, removing mostly field staff across the US who reported to National Headquarters in Washington, DC.  I volunteered with them for a bit following the layoff.

Do you currently volunteer? YES!  Way too much, according to Henry…  I’m the volunteer Content Manager for 29Gifts.org and support numerous charities and causes.  Favorites include Sewing Hope and blankets4babies, two groups on 29 Gifts; Texas EquuSearch, a search & rescue group; local and Caribbean animal shelters, among others.  Volunteering is a win-win during unemployment, as it keeps my technical skills up-to-date, you never know when a connection might lead to a full-time job lead, AND it feels so darn good to give someone a hand up.  I truly enjoy helping others.  It’s amazing how a simple moment of kindness can affect someone’s life, even if for a day.

Who have been your biggest influences? My parents.  Both Henry and I have unbelievably incredible parents who raised their children with just the right amount of discipline and never-ending love, guidance, support and laughter. They instilled in each of us a strong and honest work ethic, a thirst for adventure and knowledge, respect for everyone – especially those most different, and the confidence to change the world.  Though money was tight in both families, our parents were kind and thoughtful people who never hesitated helping others.  Couldn’t ask for better role models.  Man, I miss my dad.

What is your favorite food? If going out, pan-seared Tilapia, garlic green beans and fried okra from Peppers in Pasadena, or spicy tuna sashimi, salmon sushi rolls and green tea ice cream at Masa Sushi in Webster.

Staying in with fam? Too many faves to list, but I’ll take a stab at it – preferably with a knife and fork: Henry’s jerk chicken and seafood gumbo. David’s prime rib. Becky’s potato salad. Anything Sean & Maureen make. Steven’s Thanksgiving dressing (winner of the dressing throwdown at last T-Day dinner). Cheryl’s squash casserole. Mike & Kathie’s lobster thermidor. Traci’s chocolate mint and peanut butter candy. Glenn’s iced tea.  Susan’s crème brulée bread pudding, Mom’s chicken noodle soup and kolache rolls.  Dena’s beef stew.  Chris & Carol’s eggrolls and fresh mozzarella. Bonnie’s gourmet cole slaw with toasted ramen noodles. Cheri’s mom’s thousand dollar four layer pie. Valerie’s pecan and pumpkin pies. Tracy’s chicken & dumplings. Amy’s sausage queso dip.  Juliana’s johnnycake and guava jelly. Pearl & Gladys’s short rib Caribbean stew.  Steve H’s grilled fish and lobster. And anything curry.

What is the most meaningful gift you have ever received? Unconditional love from my parents.

Describe your ideal job:  I want to join an organization where I can use strong director-level global communication, management and technical skills to make the world a safe, secure and productive place.  I want to work with a creative team in a progressive, forward thinking environment, where all staff are seen and treated as key contributors and partners to success.  I want to work with leadership who “get” that when we expect and encourage the best from our employees, we will get their best in return, and success will inevitably follow; a place where we all learn from mistakes and we all celebrate successes.

Web content management… communications… problem resolution… policies & procedures… research… total quality management… customer service… team building… mentoring… disaster preparedness and recovery… search and rescue… sustainable project management… fundraising… vendor negotiations… teaching… training… travel… relocation…  It’s all good.

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