www.seattleworks.org

Team captian's perspective-Camp Sealth

As a Team Works member and team captain for the past three years I can honestly say that the trip to Camp Fire USA on Vashon Island is one of the best Team Works projects Seattle Works has to offer. It is especially good for a team that has been together for awhile and would like to get to know each other better.

The best things about the Camp Fire USA project are:

1). Good solid rewarding work with a knowledgeable and supportive staff.

2). A beautiful setting on the water and in the trees.

3). Free housing in comfortable, heated cabins – bring your own bedding.

4). Great food prepared for you by camp staff.

Many of us had been out to Camp Fire USA before so we knew what to expect. We also had three teams that knew each other pretty well and had been doing Team Works for more than a year – A Little Less Dirty, Paul is New to Seattle II, and Citizens of OZ IV. The real risk was that we’d get hit with some bad weather, but things worked out perfectly.

A couple dozen of us went over to Vashon Island on Friday evening and meet at Rock Island Pizza…one of the best pizza places in Western, WA. We spent a couple of hours, eating drinking and sharing good conversation in front of a roaring fireplace. It was a great start to the trip. We got to the camp at around 9pm and quickly filled up a couple of cabins. It just so happened that I had spent the previous few days at a different camp and ended up having a van full of leftovers including snacks, drinks, board games, and most importantly, smore makings. There was a group of Girl Scout at the camp as well, but they went to bed shortly after our arrival so we adopted their campfire and spent the next couple of hours enjoying the flames, watching the water along the shore and listening to the sea lions heard fish in the darkness…they bark like dogs and the fish almost jump onto the shore to get away.

Saturday morning we were up early for a breakfast of French toast and bacon and were joined by other team members who were unable to come over the night before. We had a group of roughly 30 people eager to get started. Rick and Bret, who worked at the camp, got us going. One group went off to chop firewood and the other cleared brush from playfields, campsites and trails. I spent my time with the firewood crowd. Many of us were new to this activity, but caught on quickly. It was hard yet wonderful work and throughout the day our energy remained high. It felt good to see the wood split and the wood pile grow. We took an hour or so for a lunch of burritos where the Girl Scouts sang us a song and made us do the Chicken Dance and we gathered around the fire place for a group photo. Then it was back to work till the early evening. It felt great.

The long term effects were some sore arms and swollen joints, but it was definitely worth it. Sadly a lot of people had to leave Saturday afternoon. The 13 of us who gathered around the dinner table later that evening, after a shower and a change of clothes, were full of smiles and conversation. It is really rare to be in a group of people where everyone is in the same space in terms of energy and interests. Although most of us didn’t know each other the day before we all became friends as the conversation flowed over a delicious salmon dinner. We lingered at the table for a long time…because it was the perfect place to be. I wish more people had stayed because that dinner was really what the entire trip was about…it was what Seattle Works is all about.

Dinner transitioned into a board game and another night around the campfire with a break or two for a walk along the beach. Conversation ranged all over the place in a delightful and curious way. As the night came to a close we celebrated Bryan Fiedor’s 40th birthday with a cake, candles and more conversation. No one seemed to want to go to bed and one by one people began to fall asleep around the room…now that is trust.

Fortunately we all made it to the morning where we had another delicious breakfast and split into two teams for more work. I think that we were working so hard and so efficiently that they had to come up with projects for us. One of the projects that was supposed to take us a few hours ended up taking 15 minutes at most…the effects of good food and fresh air are amazing. We cleared out some more brush, filled in a ditch, torn down a fence and rebuilt it somewhere else (around someone’s car actually). Good stuff. We finished earlier then expected and enjoyed a ferry ride through the fog back to Seattle. We were tired, but it was an amazing trip.

-Jaxon Ravens

Teams join forces at Camp Sealth

Camp Sealth is an 86 year old tradition on Vashon Island, serving 7,000 youth each year in summer camp programs, leadership and environmental education. With 70 buildings, miles of trails and 14 campsites, there is tons of work to do.  Three teams, Citizens of Oz IB, A Little Less Dirty and Paul is New to Seattle II, joined together to work at Camp Sealth November 15-16th. Way to go teams!

Beloit College Mindset List

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The List is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

---

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
12. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall along the Mexican border.
38. Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
42. Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.

From Seattle Works Board Member, Kathleen Goodman.

Yes We Cans

From Seattle Works friend, Thomas Bates. So clever!

Across the country, food banks are struggling to keep up with increased demand.  And with the holidays approaching, Democrats Work is doing something about it.  We need your help.  Today, we are launching the Yes We Cans Virtual Food Drive to help you donate to the food bank in your community.
 
Here's how it works:

1.    Click here to go to our Yes We Cans Virtual Food Drive website. 

2.    Put food or cash contributions in your shopping cart.

3.    When you check out, you will be able to designate one of over 200 food banks that will receive your donation. 

No matter where you live, you can give to a food bank in your area.  Put turkey on the table in

Colorado

or fill a child's bowl with mac and cheese in

Atlanta

.  Together, by making donations through Yes We Cans, we are giving food banks the power to buy in bulk and provide more food than each of us could donate individually. 

Encounter with Alex Reed

As mentioned in a blog from November 5th, Alison met with Alex Reed, millennial activist and freelance journalist who is traveling the country to uncover what motivates the millennial generation-those born between 1980 and 1992-and defined by their digital connectivity.

Check out the Seattle Works mentions in Alex Reed's blog and in a recent radio interview

If all this talk about Millenials has got you interested, visit his website, http://millennials.change.org/

"Hush"

Usher debuted the "Hush" single in October on iTunes as part of his continued national call-to-service for young people. What began with the Project Restart campaign after Hurricane Katrina, has continued over the years with his own New Look nonprofit organization. In September of 2008, Usher was appointed as Youth-Chair of the Service Nation Summit attended by over 500 Service Leaders.    

 

Usher is no stranger to communicating his passion for youth service as evidenced by his co-authored op-ed article with Tom Nelson, COO of AARP for the Huffington Post. However, this marks the first time he has communicated his passion for service and action through his music.

 

-Alison

 

Reflections on the Election

What an exciting time for those of us concerned with the arts of democracy--for service and civic engagement. This election ushered in tremendous change with transformational implications for our democratic practice. The service movement in our nation hearkens back to our very founding and yet this election enables us to truly re-imagine the possibilities for how we engage the American people in the challenges of our time at a scale and depth that was previously unimaginable. Here are a few informal reflections on some of the lessons and points of inspiration that I think we can carry forward.
 
The election was an unparalleled embodiment of the power of civic and volunteer engagement. With record voter turnout and an astounding volunteer infrastructure, there are enormous lessons for galvanizing the public in electoral and social change. More than three million people contributed to the Obama campaign, creating new models for grassroots fundraising and organizing. With a record contribution of 150 million dollars in a single month, the nonprofit sector can discover new ideas for online fundraising and also "bundling" through volunteer leadership. A central question for the nonprofit sector and for the new President is how do we take these lessons, this energy and human capital and apply it an ongoing manner to community and national problem solving?
 
The Obama victory has caused leaders on both sides of the aisle to celebrate the amazing capacity of this nation to embrace change. One of my work colleagues took the day off to volunteer to bring people to the polls. One of the individuals she drove was a quiet African American woman in her early 90's who shared her own story and reflections on this significant day. She said that she had voted for the first time 40 years ago and when she woke up to vote that morning so long ago, she still remembers that she was not sure that she would survive the day. She marveled that here she was, 40 years later, riding to the polls, fearing nothing, to vote for an African-American man. She concluded her story with the reflection "I believe God kept me alive this long to see this day." 
 
The election of Barack Obama is a reminder that the arc of history and change is built upon thousands of acts of courage and intention. This election is not just a victory of a hard fought campaign over two years; it also symbolically represents the civil rights journey of millions throughout the entire expanse of American history. It reminds us of our capacity to contribute to a movement over time and place, and achieve change.
 
Finally, for those of us in the business of trying to create change that is sometimes daunting --this election is a wonderful, heartening reminder that, Yes, we can!  It reminds us that improbable outcomes can be realized. Barack Obama was so unknown just a few short years ago that he could not get into his own party's convention hall.  John McCain was counted out in his own primary, flying coach with a handful of volunteer staff. Unwavering discipline, commitment, and the power of idealism can overcome the most overwhelming obstacles and both candidates demonstrated this.
 
Most important, this election beckons the American people in a powerful call to service. Ultimately, in President Elect Obama's words, "This victory alone is not the change we seek--it is only the chance for us to make that change." He asked each of us to join in remaking the nation, "block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand." 

 

Both candidates made a call to service the very core of their campaign message. The key will be how this gets translated into governance. Both Senator Obama and Senator McCain joined as co-sponsors of the Kennedy-Hatch bill, the Serve America Act that would make an unprecedented investment in national and community service, including a volunteer generation fund to support our civic infrastructure. We now have the opportunity to rally behind this legislation and work to ensure its passage in the first 100 days. In addition, we can provide ideas and thought leadership for how President Elect Obama's administration can incorporate the citizenry in its policy-making, truly engaging the American public in our most pressing challenges--from re-imagining our public school system to creating energy independence.
 
Perhaps nothing better captures the absolute majesty of our democracy than John McCain's gracious and inspired concession speech urging "all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited."
 
The celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday will be the day before the Inauguration. We look forward to helping lead the nation in tying together a celebration of Martin Luther King's vision of the beloved community through a day of service, uniting tens of thousands of volunteers in service across the country. What an auspicious way to bring in the promise of a new era of citizen engagement. 
 
Let's resolve to answer the call of both Senator John McCain and President Elect Barack Obama and restore the power of the people to tackle our toughest challenges and realize our fullest promise. 

-Michelle Nunn, HandsOn Network

It's an Investment

Tuesday night, as the election results were announced, my fellow Seattle Works volunteer, Katie, and I enjoyed a glass of champagne and considered the possibilities.  Barack Obama addressed the nation with not only thanks for, and recognition of, all of the efforts that have led to this moment, but also with a call to action to the American public.  One of the excerpts from his speech I found particularly relevant was this:

 

“It cannot happen without you; without a new spirit of service.  A new spirit of sacrifice.  So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.”

 

It was at that moment that I was reminded of the compassion and energy that Seattle Works volunteers have shared with this community.  Reminded of the cold and rainy Saturday mornings that I so desperately wanted to stay in bed, but instead managed get myself up and out to the project location, only to be met by enthusiastic, smiling faces of my team members.  And at the end of each event I find that, tired or dirty as I might be, I enjoyed the experience and that I feel good—really good—about having had some small part in improving our community. 

 

So perhaps this “new spirit of sacrifice” is not so much a sacrifice as it is an investment.  Perhaps we can find ways to give back even more and to encourage and motivate those around us to do the same.  It is my hope that we are able use the momentum of optimism and hope to inspire each other to create the world we want to live in.  A world where we give more and use less.  A world where we get involved.

 

- Juliet Todd

Used to Be New to Seattle

Backpacks for Peru

We’re heading out. It’s been almost a year since we originally surveyed folks to see where Seattle Works volunteers wanted to go, six months since we chose to work with Crooked Trails and three months of team building and anticipation. I can’t wait to land in Peru!

 

We’ll be guests for a week in Paulino and Vilma’s home. The plan is to help build a boarding school for a dozen, 10-12 year old orphan girls, thus the lavender packs. We are told that framing for the building is complete; next steps are to fill in walls with adobe bricks and install the roof! We are excited for the opportunity to help out to be a part of the Chinchero community.

We won’t have internet access while we are away, but stay tuned for posts upon our return. Here’s a snippet of what Crooked Trails has to say . . .

Jan

High in the Andes Mountains in the Sacred Valley of Peru perches the traditional Inca village of Chinchero. In 2004, a Quechua family of six from Chinchero began building a weaver’s training cooperative with Crooked Trails’ support. Traditional weaving techniques are taught and shared, and the facility has rooms where travelers can stay.

Paulino, Vilma and their children recognize the help they were given when starting their weaver’s co-op and now want to pay it forward. For the people of Chinchero, weaving is as important for preserving ancient traditions as it is for earning a livelihood.

Just outside of Chinchero, even higher in the hills, are the ancient villages of the Chinchero province that the local people refer to as “The Highlands”. At an altitude of over 14,000 feet, local villagers live off one of the only crops they can grow – potatoes. Malnutrition is a problem and children rarely receive more than one meal a day. Though the people of the highland communities are proud farmers, they live far below the poverty level with an annual income equivalent to 180 dollars.

For families in these communities, education is a luxury. The Peruvian government pays for children to go to school through grade 6. Secondary school, however, costs about $100 US per year and there is no school within two hours walking distance from the villages. Not only is this daily trek physically demanding it is also unsafe (especially for girls walking alone).

The Chinchero Education Project mission is to construct a boarding school in Chinchero allowing the children of the Highlands to continue their education and receive a daily nutritious diet. The boarding school will be built on the weaving co-op property and students will be given three meals a day, a secondary education, and afternoon training in traditional weaving so that they can return to their communities with skills that allow them to improve their own lives.

 

 

Stories from an Election Poll Worker

Election Day, November 4, 2008 started for me at 5am. 

You see, I signed up to be an election poll worker and we had to be at our polling location at 6am.  That's right, 6am – not 6:05am, not 6:02am - 6am.  There are many stories that I could tell you.  I could tell you about the large lines we had when we opened or the man who walked in 10 minutes before we closed nearly missing his chance to vote because his flight had been delayed three hours.  I could talk about my fellow election poll worker who was not old enough to vote, but was proud to be part of this historic day. 

The story I want to tell you is about one man who particularly touched me.  He walked in like any other voter.  When he approached himself he distinguished that he was a veteran by presenting his ID and it was clear that he had sustained injuries from his many years of service.  Like everyone else, he was excited to be there, eager to cast his ballot.  He went through the first steps with ease, but when it came time to sign his name in the poll book he began to struggle.  His hands were shaky and his body weak, but his determination strong.  The thing is, you have to sign your name in the poll book in order for your vote to count and he knew that.  We spent the next 15 minutes sitting with him, encouraging him.  His patience was incredible.  Not once did he show a sign of frustration.  Not once did he let on that he was going to give up.  He persevered and after struggling for longer than what most people wait in line for to get their latte he accomplished what he had come to do.  To vote.  It was in that moment that I was truly touched.  Here stood this man who served our country so selflessly, ecstatic that he can continue his service through voting.  It is because of the sacrifices that he has had made, that countless others have made for centuries that I am able to have the freedoms I have.  It is because of what they have done that I am able to live the life I live today.  There really aren't enough words for me to express my gratitude to the ones who have come before me…to the ones that gave so much of themselves so that I may have the rights I have…to the ones who served in a way that is unimaginable to many…It is because of these people that I am who I am and they are the reason why I vote.

What were you doing when history was made?!  I was making it.

Maria