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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.

By Corrie Hunkler

A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could. ~ Unknown

Thinking back on it, my first (of many) volunteer job was mentoring. It was when I attended high school in my small, isolated fishing community I knew as home. People make their living from the earth, and on the coast of Downeast Maine this can be tough. Wind chill, rough seas, and winter weather are the obstacles fishermen have to deal with when bringing in their living. In the summer our rural area comes alive with the colors of the lobster buoys speckling the sea and the hum of lobster boats working their way through the fog in the early morning. During the winter months, traps are stacked on the wharfs and most boats are brought ashore to rest for the cold. It’s during these times that people tend to go without, people struggle to make ends meet in the long stretch of winter Maine is known for, waiting for the thaw of spring.

I started mentoring during the winter of my Junior year. Basketball was winding down and I found myself restless for something to do, trying to avoid the trouble that people tended to get into when the weather was cold and work wasn’t there. I would bundle up and troop down to the grammar school where my little mentee Emily* was waiting, her feet bouncing and arms waving so happy to get to leave her desk and move. Emily was something else that seemed forgotten in the winter. Most days she looked like all 7 years of her were in charge of getting dressed, brushing her hair and making sure she got outside to catch the bus on time.

I don’t think I had any profound effect on this child’s life. And I know I didn’t have any control over what happened at home (besides admitting my concerns to the guidance counselor), but it was nice to know on those chilly Wednesday afternoons, when maybe no one else was thinking of her. I was there, reading, playing and getting Emily to smile for a little while. Hopefully, that is something she can still hold onto wherever she is.

January is national mentoring month, and it is amazing how easily one person can get involved and help a child like Emily. Studies and research have proven time and again the importance one person who cares can have in a child’s life. If you feel like you have a full plate already, talk to your boss. Most business are happy to give paid time for their staff to be involved with a mentoring program such as Big Brothers Big Sisters or for more opportunities look on VolunteerMaine.org or the Maine Statewide Mentoring Directory.

*Name changed

Corrie Hunkler is an Americorps VISTA in Machias Maine and a guest blogger.

By Penny Kern

One of the most difficult things I remember from my volunteer manager days was making time in my calendar to do my job. Sounds funny but it was always a problem. I think it’s true for most of the volunteer managers I’m still in touch with, though. It’s so easy to let things like recruiting, training and placing new volunteers slip through the cracks. It doesn’t end there, either. It’s all the preparation to begin recruiting – the action plan, the position description, the vacancy. I KNOW – believe me – I understand totally. However, if this is part of your job, it’s an important part.
Today, people have hundreds of opportunities to use their skills and knowledge as a volunteer. They don’t HAVE to wait for you to find a way to give back to their community. They are also very picky and if given the choice of doing something they don’t want to do or move on to another organization- they are more likely to move on.

Is it important to have a steady stream of volunteers for your program? Then, it’s important to “sell” your organization all the time. Finding out what the volunteers are looking for and convincing them that they should look at your organization to give their time and energy is important. Side note: Volunteers for an organization are also more likely to donate to that organization also.
Look at your daily schedule and consider how you can allocate time to recruit. What opportunities are there? How much time can you devote each day/week to:
• Follow up on phone calls or emails from prospective volunteers.
Return those calls or emails within 24 hours because these are the people who know your organization and are motivated to call. Keep a log of who you call, when and what you discuss. For me, I needed to log what I promised to do. If I didn’t write it down, I’d forgotten my promise before I hung up the phone. I became a good multi-tasker but it did cause problems if I forgot to write things down.
• Cold calling
You might be able to find a volunteer to do this for you. I personally never liked doing this but it does work. If you have a list of people – guest books, membership lists, church groups, other service organization lists, etc – it helps. A volunteer who’s very good at selling can pick up the phone and lay the groundwork for you. This cold call could include information about the mission and the most recent success along with a phone number of the volunteer manager. This opens the door for you to call later and make “the deal.”
• What about existing volunteers/volunteer groups – how to keep them engaged.
This task is the continuous “selling” because you have to constantly keep the selling of the organization going. This could be a monthly newsletter, an email, quarterly dinners, phone calls, and the all important thank you cards. This is important not only for the volunteers but for donors also. I can tell you that this one is very important.
• Schedule time to be creative and challenge yourself to “think outside the box.”
This is VERY important and it’s not a luxury. Pick a block of time, close your office door and put up a sign “Do not disturb: Genius at Work.” Look at new ways of motivating a potential volunteer. Check out the demographics and your plan of work. Changes, trends, and what is going on in the community and your organization should be examined on a regular basis so you catch any hints of how you must address recruiting new volunteers. Look at where your volunteers are and what they are doing and plan for new volunteers. Where should they come from or who should they be and, more importantly, what are they going to do that will further the mission. Recruiting people and not giving them anything to do is worse than not recruiting at all.
• Going out into the community to talk to groups and create effective written material
Presentations are a great way to reach large numbers of people and increase the odds of success. Grab their attention, tell a story and capture the right side of the brain with emotion and quickly feed the left side with facts. Having a handout with useful information is also helpful. Pictures can enhance a flyer or written material. And how about things that recognize your volunteers like certificates, volunteer of the month, etc? These are written materials that strengthen your volunteer program. This isn’t written but I heard the greatest idea that I did use often. When a volunteer did something over and above, I included a short recognition on my voice mail message. I got more comments on that and it was such fun to record. I highly recommend this a way to recognize and achievement or special effort.
• PLAN
Look at your calendar and budget your time based on your program’s needs. In my former job, people didn’t want me around during the Christmas/New Year holiday. So, this became my planning time. But, if you’re busy that time of year, you may have another down time period you could use. Schedule a time to do a good job at recruiting, training and placing volunteers.
• Your “thirty-second pitch”
I had the opportunity to go to a Points of Light workshop in Washington, DC one year early in my volunteer manager career. One of the things I brought back and have used since then is my 30-second pitch. They told us to imagine standing in a grocery store line and the very person you were trying to recruit all week is standing in line in front of you ready to check out. You have until they leave the check-out line to convince them to be a volunteer. I’ve often heard it referred to as your “elevator speech” also. The pitch needs to be SHORT and to the point while being clear and convincing. Remember – the same speech will not work for all people so you may want to have more than one. Then, give them a call later on to gauge how interested they are and answer any questions.

Don’t get discouraged if the phone calls don’t get returned or things don’t work out like you planned. There are days like that no matter how hard we try. Just remember – if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

Penny Kern is a retired volunteer manager and a featured blogger.

By Pete Phair

Dear Santa,

I know you’re busy dealing with returns of toys, ill fitting clothes and inappropriate gifts right now, but I hoped that I might get an early start on my wish list for next year… Please see what you can do and I will do what I can to be a good boy…

• World Peace- I thought I’d start out big- give me world peace and I won’t ask for anything else- not even a new DS! I promise. Well… maybe only a couple of other things…
• Volunteers- I don’t need many, just 150 or so and I promise to treat them with kindness, respect and undying gratitude. ‘Cause that’s how volunteers should be treated.
• Volunteer Recruiters- wouldn’t it be great if every volunteer begat a volunteer? And they would beget a volunteer, and so on and so on… Most are great at it and maybe just asking them to recruit others is enough, but just in case, can I get recruiters wrapped up in a nice decorative bow?
• Volunteer Trainers- Someday, I hope all my volunteers will be so comfortable with our programs and training protocols, they will beg to train the trainers! Could I get some of that next xmas?
• Volunteer Support- Is there room in your bag for more books by Susan Ellis, more presentations by Martin Cowling and more professional development opportunities from local heroes like Anne Schink and Larry Ullian?
• Volunteer Retention- Please help me make the volunteer experience for all volunteers so spectacular, they can’t wait to do it again.
• A New Snowboard- Ok sorry, I couldn’t resist. And please, make it not hurt when I fall…
• Volunteer Back-up Plans- Like those backup generators in hospitals, when a volunteer has to bail, can I have one ready to step in?
• Twenty-Ten or Two Thousand Ten- If no one else will, could you please choose? Your choice will be in place for the next millennium so choose wisely (that’s what you do anyway- right?)

And lastly Santa, as you pass from house to house next Christmas, can I ask you to please spread a word of encouragement for families everywhere to thank the volunteers they know about, join the volunteers they observe and teach their friends & family members about all the benefits of serving a larger community. There truly is no better way to celebrate the holidays!

Happy belated holidays to you and yours Santa. Ho ho ho.

Pete Phair is the Outreach Coordinator at WinterKinds and a featured blogger.

By Trudy Hamilton

Welcome to 2010! The holidays are over, and we have a brand new year just stretching out in front of us! Imagine the possibilities, seize the moment! A tradition many of us participate in at this time of the year happens to be making New Year’s Resolutions. Usually, my only New Year’s Resolution is refusing to participate in that tradition.

That said, I took some time this season to think about Resolutions. You cannot turn on your television, open a magazine or newspaper, without hearing about them! Resolutions from celebrities, along with people willing to tell you what your resolutions should be, and how to meet that mountain of goals you are setting up! Community newspapers filled with cute elementary students who have sent in their Resolutions as a class project, complete with original spelling and grammar! Of course, Resolutions must be of monumental, life-changing focus, mustn’t they? Maybe not. While pondering, I thought to see what the definition of a resolution is, in this context. I discovered that a resolution is, quite simply, a decision to do something or behave in a certain manner. This was my A-ha! moment, at last!

What, you might be thinking, do resolutions have to with volunteer management? My thought is make just one resolution…make a decision to do something. It could be setting aside an hour a week for professional development…or an hour a month. It could be taking advantage of the terrific tuition offers for Project Invest and completing one of the courses. It could be thinking about what you would like your volunteer program to look like at the end of the year, and what it would take to get it there. It could simply be taking the time to update your records, policies, or procedures. It could be evaluating what you are currently doing, and deciding to take something off your plate. Of course, it could also be simply making the decision not to do anything, as well.

The point is, a Resolution can be a small step in the right direction…and a journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. Don’t over-promise, over-commit, or over-stress with your Resolution, if you make one. Simply enjoy the path it leads you on.

Trudy Hamilton is the Manager of Volunteer Resources at SeniorsPlus and a guest blogger.