Org. 6 – Sokol

This organization is very dear to me. I have been part of this group on and off for the past 29 years. I took classes from 6th grade through high school and then became an assistant, an instructor, an author, and a women’s director. This organization has been around for over 150 years, starting in Czechoslovakia and then moving to the U.S. It started as a men’s fitness training group and then expanded in to family. This comes from the Sokol website: Well into its second century, American Sokol remains an organization dedicated to the physical, mental, and cultural advancement of its members, the youth and adults that attend its programs, and the local communities we serve. The mission of the American Sokol is to provide fitness and community for individuals and families through physical, educational, cultural and social programs. There are currently 35 American Sokol units, or clubs, operating in North America. For 145 years in the United States, American Sokol has been shaping the lives of Olympians, Diplomats, Artists, Athletes, and most importantly, the families in the communities in which we serve. For the past 4 years my brother and I have coached junior girls, these are the girls from 12 to 18. We coach them in gymnastics, track and field, and mass calisthenics. I have grown very attached to these girls. For this volunteer shift I spent 11 hours assisting at a gymnastics meet/fundraiser helping to move equipment, be a go-between for the coaches and the directors, and as an announcer.

Sokol has become like my second family.

Org. 5 – WAR International

This is one of my favorite places to volunteer. I have volunteered here for 2 years now. This organization helps women and men who have been rescued from sex trafficking. This group has helped in countries around the world by rescuing adults, teens, and children and then teaching them how to create beautiful things to be sold such as jewelry, greeting cards, and children’s gifts. All of the items are fair trade to make sure that everyone gets the life they deserve. They make a livable wage in the all of the WAR training centers. There is even a training center in the U.S. There are safehouses around the world to help make the people feel whole again. This is another heavily Christian organization but they are very accepting of everyone and they do amazing work. I went to a day-long training event with the founder and her stories are heartbreaking. Although the headquarters is in Michigan there is a boutique in Naperville where I volunteer. Most of my volunteer hours are in the boutique helping prepare merchandise to put on display. That’s what I did for this volunteer shift. Other times I help at events representing WAR and telling people about what they do. The only dangerous part is that I always want to buy lots of things in the store because everything is so cute and reasonably priced. Besides the great work they do another reason I love going in is that the volunteers are so friendly and Missy the manager is one of the sweetest people I have met and always has a hug.

Here is their website for anyone who wants to learn more. http://warinternational.org/

Org. 4 – Feed My Starving Children

This was the second time for me here. Here is their basic background : Feed My Starving Children® is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship these meals to our distribution partners. FMSC meals have reached nearly 70 countries around the world in our history. What happens when you first get here is hairnet, short video, and then quick tutorial.

Each person is assigned a station on the assembly line, one for vitamins and veggies, one for soy flakes and rice, 2 to bag, one to weigh, one to seal, and one to box. This time I was a bagger and unfortunately placed across from a grumpy high schooler who was there because she needed community service hours for school. In the two hours we packaged the manna meal I was hit in the face twice with dehydrated veggies and inhaled a cloud of vitamin dust. After the packaging the group goes into the warehouse and says a prayer over the cartons for a safe delivery of the food and for the children it is going to. Since I am not religious I did not participate in the prayer, but I did observe it. They do understand that not all the people who volunteer are religious. Unlike local food banks most of the meals packaged here are sent to third world countries. At the end of the session they tell you how much you boxed and ask you to make a donation to pay it forward to the next group of volunteers.

Here is their website if anyone is interested in volunteering. http://www.fmsc.org/

Org. 3 – We Grow Dreams

This is a new one for me. I have heard about this organization for years but was never able to participate in any way. Last week I decided now is the perfect chance. Here is their mission statement: Our Mission: To provide people with disabilities the opportunity to lead fulfilling lives and to train and work in a supportive, safe and caring environment while producing and providing products and services to the community. In this pursuit, we honor the concepts of human dignity, respect, hard work, fellowship and friendship. I was ushered back to greenhouse number 8 and was taught how to transplant seedlings. I spent 2 and a half hours transplanting over 450 seedlings. They have all sorts of plants, planters, and gifts available to purchase to raise money for their mission. It was another fun time. Here are a couple of pics. If you want to learn more about this organization check out their website: http://www.wegrowdreams.org/

Org. 2 – Bolingbrook Community Television

Years ago my dad became involved with this organization and again when I moved back from California I thought it would be fun to do something with my dad. So I went to their class to be ok’ed to use the equipment. They give you a tutorial on the cameras and on the rules of the station. Fast forward a few years the city gave the ok to change the station from a strictly volunteer organization to a city commission. I became a commissioner last year so that means I am given a stipend for meetings I attend and for the city sponsored shoots. When a fellow station member produces their own show it is back to being a volunteer. Last year I had the privilege of being asked to interview a fellow Bolingbrook resident about the 5K he was initiating to raise money for the Fox Foundation, which provides funds for Parkinson’s research, it was called the “Shake it Off 5K.” Last week I got to do a follow up interview. This gentleman has run many 5Ks, half-marathons, full marathons, and is currently training to do a triathlon. He gives inspirational talks around the country and has raised thousands of dollars for the Fox Foundation. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s over 8 years ago and hasn’t let it stop him.

Org. 1 – Naperville Independent Film Festival

When I first moved back to Illinois from California I wanted to make sure that still stayed involve with film in some way. I searched the internet and discovered there was a film festival minutes from my house. I started going to the planning meetings and got involved with the many facets of planning a festival. Since then I have helped with 5 festivals and various marketing and fundraising events that have been planned to support the festival. Two summers ago the founders of the festival were granted their dreams of having a film they co-wrote produced. One of the writers also directed the film. I helped with auditions a couple years before and was an extra in the film (unfortunately I ended up on the cutting room floor). Last week they had the honor of seeing their film on the big screen at the Hollywood Palms in Naperville. A number of the actors were in attendance and over 500 people came to the premiere event. A portion of the proceeds were even donated to another of the places I volunteer with Women At Risk. To help support the filmmakers on behalf of the film festival and WAR I volunteered 2 hours in the box office helping to check people in and selling tickets. It was a fun night!!

Volunteer Challenge

I know I have said it before, but I love doing volunteer work. This passion really started in 2000 while I was doing my Walt Disney World College Program. In the 4 months I lived in Florida I volunteered to drive golfers around WDW, I wrapped Christmas gifts, and I got to help decorate a float for the Orange Bowl parade. This interest in volunteering led me to join the Burbank Jaycees while I lived in California where I met some dear friends and got do things like stand for 2 hours holding a bottle of wine to helping cast members of M.A.S.H. pick up their silent auction winnings. So in honor of my 40th birthday I decided to do a self-imposed volunteer challenge. I thought it would be fun to do a 40 day, 40 hour challenge. The tricky part to the challenge is that I have to put in at least 2 hours at 20 different volunteer organizations. I am still putting in 35-40 hours at my job and 6 hours of coaching each week of the challenge (well to be honest this week will only be 2 hours of coaching), and no meetings I attend count towards the challenge. The problem I have come across is that some of the groups I normally volunteer with have limited volunteer opportunities so I had to change the challenge to 45 days. As I write this introduction I am 37 days from my 40th birthday and I have put in 3 days of volunteering. I will write about each organization in future posts. I do have some restrictions to places I can volunteer because: 1. I don’t like being around blood or injured individuals so hospitals are out, 2. my allergies limit me to time I can spend around lots of animals so humane societies are out, and 3. I am not religious so I do not volunteer for specifically religious based organizations, i.e. churches. Next post I will start describing the organizations and what I did during my volunteer hours. 