SITE

By Elizabeth Cole

My nephew is going through the why phase. You know, the phase where you can’t go more than three minutes without some existential discussion?
“Auntie Liz, Why do ants live in the dirt?”
“Because they like to.”
“Why do they like to?”
“Well… It’s always the same temperature and it’s easy to dig in.”
“Why is it easy to dig?”
“Um… Well, because it’s softer than, say, concrete.”
“Why is it softer?”

For those of you who read this blog regularly, you may remember that I wrote last a piece last month introducing the concept of coaching. So why am I opening this post with an anecdote about domestic bliss, toddler style? Well, as it turns out, my nephew is preparing for a promising future as a volunteer manager.
Supervisors of volunteers who use a coaching model ask open-ended questions, helping their volunteers to discover answers and solutions on their own. As a “coach,” you will typically help your team members to solve problems, make better decisions, learn new skills, or otherwise progress in their role. Not every question should be treated as a coaching opportunity, but with a little coaching, your volunteers’ performance will improve dramatically.

One proven approach to coaching is the GROW model. GROW is an acronym standing for Goal - Current Reality - Options - Will. The model is a simple yet powerful framework for structuring a coaching session.

1. Establish the Goal: First, with your volunteer, you must define and agree the goal or outcome to be achieved. You should help your volunteer define a goal that is specific, measurable and realistic. In doing this, it is useful to ask questions like:
“How will you know that you have achieved that goal?”
“How will you know the problem is solved?”

2. Examine Current Reality: Too often, people try to solve a problem without fully considering their starting point and miss some of the information needed to reach the most effective solution. Useful coaching questions include:
“What is happening now?”
“What is the effect the result of that?”

3. Explore the Options: Help your volunteer generate as many good options as possible. By all means, offer your own suggestions. But let your volunteer start and do most of the talking. Typical questions used to establish the options are:
“What else could you do?”
“What are the benefits and downsides of each option?”

4. Establish the Will: Your final step as coach is to get you volunteer to commit to specific action. In so doing, you will help the volunteer establish his or her will and motivation. Useful questions:
“So what will you do now, and when?”
“What could prevent you moving forward?”
“And how will you overcome it?”

A great way to practice using the model is to address your own challenges and issues. When you are stuck with something, you can use the technique to coach yourself. By practicing, you will learn how to ask the most helpful questions. Write down some stock questions as prompts for future coaching sessions.

Elizabeth Cole is a guest blogger and an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Maine Commission for Community Service.

By Anne Schink, CVA

I recently taught a class for managers of volunteers and it was interesting to see who actually showed up for the class. We had an executive director (the only paid staff) of a local land trust, an office manager of a nonprofit that was almost entirely run by an all-volunteer board, a department director of a housing complex, an event planner from a local business development organization, a brand new staff member of an animal rescue organization, and three staff members of a large youth-serving organization. I point this out only as a reminder that who we define as a manager of volunteers varies widely from organization to organization. On the up side is the fact that organizations of all types and sizes recognize the importance of volunteers in achieving the organization’s mission.

Clearly no one job description would cover this disparate group of participants. Yet many of their concerns were the same. While they all expressed the desire to increase the effectiveness of their volunteer programs, their expectations about what these people would do and what kind of people they were trying to attract was all over the map. Most of them had a mental picture in their heads about who was ‘typical’ for their organization. It took some stretching for them to see that they might have to re-think their vision if they were going to attract tomorrow’s volunteers.

In a recent Webinar I attended, the presenter said that tomorrow’s volunteers wanted the four F’s in their volunteer assignments—Flexible, Fast, Friendly, Focused. That goes for Board members, volunteers functioning as external consultants, behind the scenes administrative support, or direct service positions. No one, in any generation, is signing on for life these days. Flexible means that the position is shaped to match the volunteer’s schedule, not the other way around. Fast means a quick response to their initial inquiry and a quick turnaround in placing them. If you don’t catch them the first time they try to reach you, they will go elsewhere. Friendly means that you need to welcome them, make them feel part of your organization, and give them a meaningful role working with others. Focused means deadlines, time limits, and real measurable outcomes.

This may fly in the face of more traditional ways of creating a volunteer program, but it is a reminder that this is an ever-changing landscape. Having clearly defined job descriptions is the foundation of a sound volunteer program, but the experienced, adaptive manager of volunteers will make the changes required to build a creative program that meets a wide variety of interests and personalities.

Anne Schink, CVA is a Consultant in Volunteer Management and a featured blogger.

By Margaret Mayo

1. What motivates me to volunteer? (Why did I join Peace Corps?)
I joined the Peace Corps because I had an inexorable desire to give back. The idea began to form in my mind when I reflected back on my childhood, where so many opportunities had been placed neatly in front of me. This made me realize that I wanted kids in other, less fortunate parts of the world to have some of the same opportunities. I wanted those kids (and the generations before and after them) to benefit directly from the skills I’ve gained throughout my educational career.
Other factors that motivated me to join the Peace Corps included the aspiration to experience new cultures, languages and ways of life, and the desire to break out of the bubble of suburban America. I was tired of living the same old life, even though it was a safe, healthy and productive one. I wanted to get out and experience the world in a manner that would also allow me to give back and do something for a community which I could call my own. Peace Corps seemed like the perfect way to do this, so I signed up and put my whole heart into the application. I was willing to go anywhere in the world and do anything Peace Corps needed me to do: no job would be too distasteful, no needy neighborhood too unimportant.
Now that I’m here, I’ve discovered a whole new set of motivations I didn’t even know I had before arriving in Ghana. I’ve only been teaching for a few weeks, but already I have a new sense of what I want to accomplish: I want to impart in my students a love of science. I’ll try to teach them everything I know about my subject—Integrated Science—and hope it will benefit them in their second, third and fourth years of high school and beyond. I wish to instill in them a thirst for knowledge, a curiosity that is based in science. I want to equip them with the skills to find out what they want to know so they can then go on to contribute to the betterment of their own country and community.
I also want to encourage my students to dream big, especially the girls. Female students in Ghana still don’t receive quite the same encouragement to stay in school and achieve their dreams as male students do, and I want to change that. I want to teach all my students not to be satisfied with just the information that is presented to them, but rather to go out and look for new information. I want them to challenge what they know and what they think they know, to always keep improving upon and striving to increase their store of knowledge. Like I said, I didn’t even know I wanted to do these things before I got here—but now that I do, I’m glad I’ll be spending two years in a place where I can put my best effort into achieving those goals.

2. How does volunteering affect me on a personal level?
One of the most profound effects that Peace Corps volunteer service has had on me is the new perspective I have gained on my own former life in America. Living outside the U.S., even for only seven months, has drastically changed how I view the way I used to live.
I’ve learned so much about African culture—not just Ghanaian culture, but about cultures all across Africa, and this makes me feel like I can see so much more of the “big picture” of life all over the planet. Before I left America, I had never realized that the way of life there could be thought of as a distinct culture. I’d always assumed that since we were known as a melting pot of people and cultures, it would be too difficult to characterize Americans in one specific manner. But now that I’ve been exposed to a totally different way of life, and to a steady source of journalism written by non-Westerners, I am beginning to see America through the eyes of someone else. One of the books I brought with me to Ghana was A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. In this book, the narrator leaves America to become a Canadian citizen and can’t leave behind his disdain for American politics. The first time I read this book I didn’t pick up on much of the criticism toward America, but now that I’ve been living outside the U.S. it makes much more sense. It seems that the simple fact that I’ve relocated has enabled me to get so much more out of that literary experience than I would have if I’d read this book again while in the States.
The other most profound gift that Peace Corps service has given me is a new handle on the concepts of patience and tolerance. Most of my life I’ve never agreed with the saying “patience is a virtue,” but here that statement is beyond true. Patience is by far the most well-worn of the virtues or skills I’ve picked up here in Ghana, and now I’ll expand a bit on what I mean.
When the new school year officially began on September 15th, 2009, only the second- and third-year students had arrived on campus. The first-year students were still awaiting placement by the Ghana Education Service, or GES—they didn’t yet know which senior high school they would be sent to. As I was assigned to teach integrated science to all the first-year students, I couldn’t start; I had to wait. I thought the delay would only last for two or three weeks, and was happy to occupy myself with other things during this time. I had hoped the students would be showing up in the first or second week of October, but when October 1st rolled around and the placement lists still hadn’t been released, I began to get discouraged. Finally they came out on October 7th, and my hope was renewed. At last, I thought, soon the students would be arriving and we could get down to business! There is a lot of material to cover in the first-year science syllabus and, knowing it would be a challenge to get through it all, I was eager to start. But a few days later, the headmaster posted a sign next to the placement list that said “Senior high school (form) one opening date: 26 October 2009.” Once again, I was dismayed. I had to wait two more weeks?? I resolved not to let this get to me. Then, some conversations I’d had with volunteers in their second years came back to me: “The first-year students don’t show up all at once; for a while there’ll only be a few.” So it was likely that I would have to wait still longer before I could start teaching real material. You can’t jump in and start covering the syllabus when there are only five kids in the classroom. So before the official opening day, I wrote three days’ worth of “backup” lesson plans regarding my expectations for the class, good study and homework habits, and HIV/AIDS (a subject all Peace Corps volunteers are required to address many times over). I hoped I wouldn’t get through all the backups before enough students showed up to start real classes, but I was prepared to do so if necessary.
Finally, October 26th arrived and I headed to one of the three first-year classrooms first thing that Monday morning. There were six students. Not just from that one class (the Business students) but from all three classes combined (Agriculture and General Arts as well). This wasn’t unlike what I had expected, so we began my backup lessons. I kept hoping that the next day, or maybe the next, there’d be a significant number of students and we could start for real—every day that passed was one fewer day that I could spend preparing these kids for the end-of-term exam, which was preparation for the standardized exam they would ultimately have to take. High school students in Ghana must pass WASSCE exams (which are administered to the majority of West Africa) in every core subject in order to graduate from high school. So one can see that it is critical to get the ball rolling as early as possible in order to cover the maximum amount of material.
As of November 17th I’d been teaching real, genuine syllabus material to my fifty-plus students for just over two weeks. Classes are going well, but I have to go slowly to make sure the students understand what I’m saying and to patch over the holes in material that they should already be familiar with. We won’t get to nearly everything I had hoped to cover in this term, but we’ll do the best we can before final exams start on December 10th.
In short, it can be frustrating when the end of October rolls around, with barely six weeks remaining in the academic term, and you’ve still only got 13 students (out of 136) in your entire first-year class. But being frustrated doesn’t do any good: you have to make the best of it, and that’s another big lesson I’ve learned here in Ghana. I’ve had to constantly revise my plans and look for new, better ways to do things and to get my to-do list accomplished; as a result, adaptability would be second on my list of most-practiced skills (after patience).
I am, however, glad that I will be able to help these kids build a foundation for a science education in a place where such things aren’t always a guarantee. The results of the WASSCE (West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination) tests from the graduating third-year students at my school this past May were by far the worst in integrated science, chemistry, and math. I have my work cut out for me, but it’s nice to know where I’m starting from and to have a tangible goal: to see those exam scores rise.

3. What impact are volunteers making in Ghana?
Teaching and non-teaching Volunteers alike are making great strides in areas Americans probably take for granted, like education regarding HIV/AIDS, sanitation, and nutrition. Many adults and young people in Ghana have no idea how to properly use condoms because that information is not taught in schools or otherwise made widely available. Condoms here don’t usually come in neat drugstore boxes with printed instructions like they do in the U.S., although they are subsidized by the government and are available for 1 pesewa each (less than one U.S. cent). The lack of existing information means that the frequent condom demonstrations done by all types of PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) positively affect and educate a lot of people.
Challenges faced by education volunteers include the fact that many Ghanaian teachers in rural or deprived areas of the country show up for class late, don’t show up at all, or treat their students with disrespect. PCVs set a good example for both students and teachers by being in class at the proper time and trying hard to treat students fairly. One could say that PCVs tend to set an example by bringing their American work ethic to the table.
I personally look at my school here in Ghana and, though I try not to, cannot help but compare it to the schools I attended in the U.S. It’s hard not to point out shortcomings every time they arise, but I am constantly hit with new ideas for something that can be improved. Already my list includes painting over the graffiti adorning many classroom walls; having the school provide desks instead of forcing students to bring their own; making sure that all students, even the ones who can’t pay fees in full, receive textbooks; establishing a computer lab that won’t be ruined by the dusty dry season; making the cluttered, outdated chemistry lab into a usable and effective learning space; organizing and shelving books that have been sitting in boxes in the library for years; and painting the chalkboards with a long-lasting, nontoxic coating (as opposed to used battery acid, which is utilized currently).
Volunteers in the Omnibus sector (health/water/sanitation, environment and small enterprise development) are making great strides in educating rural citizens about proper sanitation and the need for hand washing, disease prevention and other important health guidelines. There is no infrastructure in place to take care of sewage disposal in the vast majority of Ghana; the exceptions are a few small areas within the larger cities. There is currently no way to provide running water to most homes in rural Ghana, either. Townspeople must do the best they can with KVIP (Kumasi ventilated improved pit) latrines and soak-away pits, but even this most basic level of sanitary facilities is often absent in deprived areas. Some rural citizens are still not aware of the mechanisms by which disease spreads, and flies and other insects are not often kept under control. In fact, many of my first-year senior high science students were unfamiliar with the basic concepts of bacteria, viruses and parasites.

Margaret Mayo is a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Ghana and a guest blogger.

By Patricia Kimball

Most people think I am crazy when I tell them that I love writing grants. They look at me with a sideward glance, more than a little skeptical…their look suggesting I must have a screw loose. While this might in fact be true, it is also true that I think grant writing is one of the most creative and exciting adventures upon which a nonprofit leader can embark.

My goal –through this blog – is to convince you that “love” is a word that you, too can attach to the job of grant writing. To help you move from skeptic to fellow enthusiast, I will address two important topics as they relate to grant writing: 1) The grant as a contract; and, 2) The grant as a foundation for social change.
Whenever I conduct a grant writing workshop – regardless of the experience level of the audience – I always begin by talking about the idea of a grant as a contract. Grants are not free money. Embedded in the awarding of the grant is the notion that there is an exchange; essentially, a grant constitutes a contract between an organization that has money and one that provides services. In many ways, the winning of a grant is no different than the exchange of commodities. One organization has financial resources and the other offers expert services; both want to realize their vision. When there is a match between the two organizations, a grant results. It is the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship that serves the goals of both parties.

Why is this important? Because it affects how an organization goes about identifying funders for their services, how organizations approach funders, and how they view their role in the world of solving social problems. Nonprofits are service organizations whose mission is to apply their services in support of some sort of social change. They are experts in the provision of services to solve social problems and as such, their grant application should reflect this expertise. It should contain all the elements necessary to convince the funder that their money constitutes a sound investment in realizing your shared vision.

A commonly held belief is that just because you are a nonprofit organization, you deserve and will receive grants. Of course, anyone who has submitted grants knows that success is hard fought in the grant world. This is not said to discourage would-be grant writers. Not at all. It is said to help you understand that resources should be carefully and thoughtfully applied to grant writing because you cannot count on winning every grant for which you apply.

Knowing this frees you up to realize the true benefit of grant writing, beyond the award of cash. Grant writing is really program development. The process of putting together a grant application is the same process by which you go about developing programs. What is your intended goal? How do you propose to reach it? How much will it cost? How will you measure success? Who is your audience? How do you know you will be successful? All of these questions need to be answered prior to putting together a grant proposal. Many people “write to the vision of the funder” – meaning they seek to understand what a foundation is looking for, and write a proposal to match. The process is more about getting money and less about seeking funding for a project for which you will see long term, sustainable social change.

When done right, proposals serve as the foundation for the cool and creative projects your organization intends to run. Projects that solve real problems. Projects that change lives. The process of developing your proposal is very much the process of designing projects that address our most challenging problems and thus, the benefits of putting proposals together truly outweighs the dollars you might receive. Precisely because grant writing is about building programs that have the capacity to change people’s lives! And this is truly exciting.

So, the next time you are faced with the challenge of writing a grant, take a step back and realize your true charge. I promise you will be filled with a sense of excitement. And you too may be viewed as someone with a screw loose.

Patricia Kimball works for Ideactive Solutions and is a guest blogger.

By Carl Lakari

I have always thought volunteering is essentially the giving (of our energy) to help others. It’s service.
Sounds simple, but it’s not. I am challenged by years of judgments and carried perspectives – personal and cultural. “Rugged individualism”, “buck up, you can do it”, and “people should not ask for or need help”. Not true of course, but part of my personal makeup. I have to move through this to the other side of my nature. The one I am re-learning. The one that matters.

Young people are natural leaders and volunteers and they usually lack that baggage that adults (like I!) carry. And when I co-founded Project AWARE in 2003 I really had no idea that there was so much precious energy out there in our youth ready to be tapped for the greater good. Six years and many hundreds of volunteers later, I am convinced – the desire to make a difference and be of service is real and it is alive in our youth. And what great powerful service it is.

Here are a few ways Project AWARE provides support and appeal to youth volunteers:
• Initially going to existing youth networks and schools to get help soliciting young people as volunteers. Have an info gathering and make it fun and with food.
• Making the project specific, interesting, and fun with clear goals and outcomes primarily developed by the youth themselves.
• Letting young people take the lead. Providing tools and then standing back and giving them the opportunity to take charge and only supporting when necessary. The potential and the creativity of youth is phenomenal. They usually do not have enough opportunity to express it.
• Providing healthy and delicious food. Limiting sugar and no preservatives.
• By building relationships beyond the task at hand. Using games, special events, overnights, retreats and much more.
• Communicating in a variety of ways including e-mail, texting and phone and by not depending on any one method.
• Maintaining a lot of understanding for the hectic and busy schedules of young people today.
• Remembering they are young people and not adults. They are and should be a place appropriate for their age therefore different ways of relating, communicating, reminding and supporting are all necessary.
• Again, remembering to let them take the lead. If they have ownership of the project they will stick with it.

Editors Note: Next month, we will feature a letter from one of Project AWARE’s youth volunteers, Josephine Cooper. The mission of Project AWARE is to empower young people to lead.

Carl Lakari is a Coordinator at Project AWARE and a guest blogger.

By Michael Aiguier

An emergency plan is something every organization should have. Here in Maine, we generally have something in place for when we get snowed in, or the electricity goes out, and these are aspects of any good emergency plan. It is the unexpected emergencies that a good general plan covers.

Some things that need to be covered are phone trees, off-site back up of files and secondary suppliers. Phone trees are something that we often have in place already for snow days, and are really good for everyone to be well informed of. You might consider adding non-essential personal to your phone trees, since they sometimes show up out of concern, when safety would dictate that they stay home. Off-site back up of files is electronic and paper, because of the possibility of fires as well as flooding. Secondary suppliers are necessary to have in case your current supplier was not as prepared as you were for the emergency.

One great resource to keep in mind in times of emergency is 2-1-1. 2-1-1 Maine works with the Maine Emergency Management Agency on statewide disaster planning and with county emergency management agency directors for disaster planning on a localized basis. They are able to dispel rumors and guide people to the nearest resources (shelters, aid agencies, etc.) that can help. If you are interested in helping during natural disaster situations, Maine Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster is a partner with VolunteerMaine.org and has many different types of organizations with different types of positions and opportunities.

There are several places on-line that have basic fill in the blank plans for free, but one of the best I have found is the FEMA.gov website. The size of the organization is going to determine the size of the plan, but should not determine whether or not there is one.

Michael Aiguier is a VISTA serving at the United Way of Eastern Maine and a featured blogger.

The American Civil Rights movement was a shaping event in my life. Growing up in the 60’s and becoming aware of how far we all had to go convinced me that I was duty-bound to act as well as speak.. That sense of duty; that obligation to stand against bullies, was a gift my welder father gave me. I have carried that sense of obligation with me all these years.

I have a large framed poster of Dr. King with the full text of his “I Have a Dream” speech underneath. I’ve had it for years. When the Maine Commission for Community Service appeared on my computer asking for service proposals, right away my thoughts went to what 8 -10 year olds could actually do. Those are the kids we work with. I knew that one thing they are good at is acting. They do it all the time. And we already had a working relationship with Laura Guite at Central Maine Community Television. What better use of our kids talents than in front of a TV camera, advocating for people to do a “Day of Service” on January 18.

I e-mailed Laura Guite at CATV the next day, suggesting that we script a Public Service Announcement. She readily accepted and we were off and running. Of course, there were still other steps to take. Find a site. Create the setting. Select kids and quotes. Talk to them and their parents, making sure everyone was on the same page. Schedule it all.

It all came together at the Alfond Youth Center on a Monday afternoon Dec.14. With Martin Luther King and club logos as a backdrop, each child quoted their quote for the television audience, with the whole group of eight ending: “Make It a Day On and Not Just Another Day Off! Make It a Day of Service!

While the PSA is a nice script, there were a number of pieces which needed greater attention. First, it should have been shot in complete silence; the microphone if very sensitive, even to noise in the next room. And there should have been more than one take for all the kids. The presentation could have been more polished. Most of them rushed at the end of their task, wanting to end successfully, but also to have it over with.

Still and all, this public service piece promoting Martin Luther King Day as a Day of Service was televised through community TV outlets from Hallowell to Solon since Central Maine CATV has cooperative arrangements with neighboring cable providers.

But what counts the most is that eight children we are charged with educating know a whole lot more about why there is a public holiday on January 18 and who Martin Luther King was.

Steve Aucoin is the Unit Director of the North End Boys and Girls Club in Waterville and a guest blogger.

By David Griswold

For what is life, but a brief search to give,
That we may love, and loving, hope to live…

It was three in morning. On the edge of sleep and a dream, I walked slowly through the darkness of the house, lit only by the green glow of clocks, and opened my computer to write down those lines.

I wasn’t sure what they meant, only that they had a meaning I didn’t want to lose.

In the morning, as I started my computer and sat down for breakfast, I pored over those lines with the loud crunch of Raisin Bran resounding in my head. For the past six months prior to this late night revelation, I had been plotting out a year long trip of service, intending to coordinate three hundred and sixty five different volunteer events in three hundred and sixty five different places across the globe. Called “project 360^5″, the hope was that a project like this would help inspire others to see and embrace the endless opportunities to give around them.

As I sat there at the table though, the early morning sunlight pouring in from the windows, it occurred to me then that a giving “project” didn’t make sense. Giving back and volunteering wasn’t something that I could “do” - something that could begin and end - but it was something that I needed to live.

If life was a search - for happiness, for meaning, for connection - then it was a search that I wanted to give back. I believed then, as I do now, that it was only in a sustained giving of myself that the purpose and joy I sought could be found.

In the half-dream of that night, I realized that I had found words for a struggle that had been churning below the surface since I had first left my job at Google in California, hoping to clarify a path and a purpose for my life. There wasn’t an answer to my questions - only a process of answering that I needed to embrace.

Since that time, my goal has been to live mindfully - to live what I think of as a life of “loving action”. To me, this means an unending openness, readiness and desire to give in every moment of every day, and an active seeking of opportunities to learn from others, in hopes of learning better what I can give back to the world.

What began as project 360^5 has today evolved into an initial step in my lifelong search to give. In September, I will be setting out across the globe, volunteering for six months in six different countries, before returning to the States and road-tripping from California to Maine, knitting together weeks of volunteer activities with family, friends and whoever else is willing to open their door.

My sense is that there are all too many people out there who want to get out and volunteer, but who just need a little push to break free from the normal routines of their lives. While the dream remains that this trip might serve as an inspiration for those I’ve never met, my hope is that it might first serve as a spark for my immediate network of friends and family, and ripple outwards from there.

This emphasis on a more personal scope is based on my own experience having seen the difficulty of mobilizing communities through broad outreach campaigns. Though these efforts often prove effective in raising awareness, and are capable of reaching a large audience in a short time, I’ve found that it takes almost always takes a personal connection - often a personal request or story - to motivate someone to make a change in their lives.

Organizing a trip like this and trying to mobilize people around it would be near impossible to do by myself. But by reaching out personally and asking for the help of friends and family, my hope is that they might embrace and extend this project, reaching out to their own networks, and thereby expanding that personalized call to action. My role then is simply to provide the dates and the impetus for organizing a week or so of service, and to suggest ideas and tools (like volunteermaine.org, idealist.org, or allforgood.org) to make this process easier.

Having a blog at the center of all this - a place to share pictures, videos and stories - then allows all those who participate and hear about the project to share in the journey as it unfolds. Each event, each potluck, each can of food donated, each mile traveled - each becomes a piece in a growing mosaic that everyone can feel a part of.

As I travel, and as the network of this trip expands, my hope is to learn from others what giving means to them, and to share stories and resources with all who are contemplating their own “answering”. I know I have not come to close to living fully the vision of love I have set out for myself, and expect that I will only discover how much more room I have to grow as I embark on this journey.

In setting forth for a year, breaking free from the normal flow of my day to day, and intentionally creating a space in my life where giving can enter my heart and mind - my hope is that I may be able to fold these principles of love and giving into my everyday action, sublimating the conscious desire to give into an unconscious and undeniable state of being.

To whatever extent it’s helpful to you, I would love to have you join in this journey, whether that is simply participating in the conversation that unfolds, or finding stops along the way where you’d like to get out and give back. You can learn and read more at asearchtogive.org, where I’ll be blogging the journey come September.

Prior to setting off in September, I’d love to hear your own stories of giving, such that I might learn from you in advance of my own journey, and that we might learn a bit from one another. At the end of the day, we’re here, we only get one now, and we’re all in this together. It all starts with the question - and from there, the answers are endless.

David Griswold is a guest blogger. Follow his journey online at asearchtogive.org.

By Jamie Andrew

When I moved to Portland, I was fresh out of art school: wide-eyed, bushy-tailed, and full of ideas about my seemingly endless future. I landed an AmeriCorps position at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, where I grew from an art student (“What? You mean I can’t spend eight hours a day drawing in my studio? You mean I have to go back to work for five days in a row?”) to a full-fledged working professional: Educator and Volunteer Coordinator here at CMTM.

Portland is unlike any place I have ever lived: seagulls squawk outside my window every morning, every other car is a Subaru with a kayak strapped to the top, and in June the sun is up at four a.m., which somehow makes it possible for me to go for a jog at 5:30 (January, however, is a different story). I dearly love all of these things about life in our cozy little city, but there’s something I love even more: everyone who lives here.

Never before have I lived in a community that feels so tight-knit. I mean, where else can you walk three blocks and run into seven people that you know? And even more than simply being tight-knit (which can, admittedly, sometimes morph into gossip: “You saw them where?”), Portlanders care about each other. They care about what goes on in this little city. How do I know this? Easy: I’m a Volunteer Coordinator.

Last month, CMTM and the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad partnered to put on this event known as “The Polar Express.” Sound familiar? It’s a beloved book to many of us, a fantastical movie to others. Now imagine the story delivered by child actors, riding one of those antique train cars, with real Hot Chocolate Chefs hand-serving you cups of whipped-cream-topped hot chocolate as you make your way to the North Pole. Imagine this event running every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Pretty magical, no? Now imagine being the Volunteer Coordinator for the event, recruiting, managing, and supervising upwards of 150 volunteers. Magical, indeed.

Here’s the thing: everyone wanted to help out. My recruitment strategies might have facilitated things (“Did you ever read the Polar Express when you were a kid?”), but really, truly, people stepped up to the plate in a way that I could only have dreamed of. I had everyone from SMCC students to CEOs of local businesses scrubbing crusty pots of burnt cocoa, donning chef hats and packaging cookies. Even our Santa Clauses voluntarily wore fake beards and red velvet suits for hours at a time (and we all know how well polyester velvet breathes). And you know what? Pretty much everyone sang along to “Santa Baby” when it came on the radio, danced (or at least waved) when the train pulled up and left with big smiles behind their scarves and hats. For one month, I was elbow-deep in chocolate milk, train schedules, and more holiday cheer and generosity than I ever could have imagined. Was it a lot of work? Yes. Did everyone pitch in? Yes. Does Portland care? Yes.

So thank you, Portlanders who volunteer. You are the reason our city is a vibrant, creative, welcoming little place. I feel lucky to call myself a resident.

Jamie Andrew is the Visitor Guide / Volunteer Coordinator at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine and a guest blogger.

By Angie Desrochers

This is the last day of my second year as an AmeriCorps VISTA and with it brings much reflection on community service and social change. Earlier today I was thinking about the amazing work that the VISTAs are doing around the state and I suddenly felt optimistic. I realized that there really are some very dedicated, passionate people in the world that are committed to making a change. I began to feel hopeful and for a minute let myself believe that there might come a time when we have no longer need AmeriCorps programs because we have been successful at eliminating poverty and creating sustainable communities. I am not so Polyanna-ish to think that that day will come to fruition in the near future, but for a moment I was able to envision it. For just a brief moment I stopped to conjure up visions of people being adequately housed and well fed; people properly educated so that they could fulfill their dreams. In this moment I deeply understood that volunteers do make a difference! Yes, in fact, I was quickly reminded me of some data I had seen indicating that in 2008 the United States had seen a substantial growth in the number and diversity of people volunteering!

Yet, I am admittedly a pessimist (or at least a realist) and quickly I was drawn back from my imaginary world of social equality by thoughts of sustainability. I know from experience that AmeriCorps VISTA projects focus on sustainability and capacity building, but how, as Americans, can we ensure that this growth continues? I immediately plunge into a deluge of negative thinking…obviously, we are all busy people. Most of us are hesitant to add an additional task to our already overburdened schedules and surely we cannot all stop our lives and selflessly devote an entire year to community service. Again I asked myself, “How can we sustain the growth in volunteerism and therefore improved families and communities?” Eureka! I have the answer!

The answer can be found in a slightly revised and expanded definition of volunteerism. It is rooted in traditional values and inspired by the words of Martin Luther King Jr. This definition proposes that volunteerism include such acts as smiling at a homeless person to show that we still have respect for them as a human being or shoveling an elderly neighbor’s drive way to ensure their safety. I believe that when we all incorporate this definition of volunteerism into our lives and commit to making these small changes we will surely begin to see real and sustainable changes in our communities. I believe it is important to take the time to understand how people become impoverished and disenfranchised and to stand in solidarity with them. It is from this level of acceptance that we will find the remedy to for our ailing world.

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that’s all I want to say.
If I can help somebody as I pass along,
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song,
If I can show somebody he’s traveling wrong,
Then my living will not be in vain.
—Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major Instinct, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on 4 February 1968

Angie Desrochers is an AmeriCorps Alumni and a guest blogger.