Teams “New to Seattle" and "Friends you haven't met yet" gathered at a Hot Project to help EarthCorps seek and destroy the EVIL IVY. We learned a lot about invasive species in the Pacific Northwest, which includes ivy among many other plants. It was a long day of hard work that left us all proud and exhausted. This was my easiest day as Team Captain because EarthCorps was so organized.
Our last project was helping an elderly lady (Sophia) with
yard work and a little cleaning.
Top Ten Things I learned with Volunteer Chore Services...
1. Volunteering is just as much about connecting with people as it is about
producing something tangible. For Sophia, having people around to talk to
was just as significant a contribution as all of the cleaning and yard work we
did.
2. If Eric ever wants a career change, he could become a landscape architect;
he did an amazing job rejuvenating Sophia's herb garden. Or he could try
electrician.
3. Courtesy of Sophia: a certain sulphur spray that you can only find in a
certain Mountlake Terrace nursery is the only all natural way to keep your
grape leaves healthy, but the stuff smells awful.
4. Volunteering is way more fun than sleeping in until noon...plus you feel
better about yourself because you've already had such a productive day and its
only 2 pm on a Saturday.
5. Akshat and I are an unstoppable force feared by ivy all over the Beacon Hill
region. We removed three large trash bags full of the stuff, and got to
the 'root of all ivy,' which was the size of a small tree trunk. Well, at
least 3" in diameter.
6. Kris and Rob are pruning machines. Kathleen already covered that one
but their speed and artistic skill with the clippers was impressive.
7. Removing a blackberry root ball is equivalent in difficulty to summiting
Everest.
8. Don't start a top ten list if you only have seven things and can only get to
eight by saying how you don't have enough points to fill up your list.
Prabhu Adie
New to Seattle Team
On my way to Cooper
Elementary School I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I thought maybe I'd
be doing monotonous manual labor in an empty school, but it ended up
being so much more. We worked directly with the teachers, helping them
with small tasks and large jobs alike. The whole day ended up being a
trip down memory lane. Elementary school all came rushing back to me as I
walked into the first classroom and the smell of Crayons hit my nose.
The first job of the day was emptying a supply closet which was to be converted
into a changing room/rain gear closet for the kids before and after
recess. While emptying the closet I saw a book that looked
familiar. It was the same math book that I used in fourth grade! I
don't remember much of the math, but I recognized the green cover with pictures
of kids on a jungle gym.....pretty random. After the closet was emptied
we cut out hearts for Valentine's Day and stapled cloud shaped pockets of paper
together for the kids to stuff and hang. The four hours whizzed by and I
had a blast. The idea that something I had fun doing could improve the
students quality of life is wonderful. The entire staff was appreciative of
our efforts and thanked us profusely. I left with a sense of
accomplishment and I'm definitely looking forward to our next event.
- Kris McKelvey
I want to thank Seattle Works
for the experience I had on Saturday, February 9th. My fellow “New
To Seattle” teammates and I descended upon Cooper Elementary school in a frenzy
of good intentions. We committed random acts of taping (children’s book boxes),
ruthlessly shoveled mounds of soil (planting), and organized one class room
library with no conscience what’s so ever. One squad of our do-gooder legion
covered a wall with joyful propaganda while another viciously smothered out
dated furniture with brightly jubilant contact paper. We left ground zero
(a.k.a. Cooper Elementary) carrying a heavy burden of pride and
community. Yet we know in our hearts, that in four weeks, we have no
choice but to once more let go our altruistic inhibitions and give in to the
good deeds of Seattle Works.
Thanks,
Rob Schreiber
P.S…New to Seattle rocks!!
I had always heard teachers
had it tough, but I realized the full importance of that in our Team Works
project at Cooper Elementary.
At the outset, we were
greeted by the Vice Principal and other staff and soon found ourselves engulfed
in projects. There was just so much to
do – yard work to make the ground more usable for the kids, putting together
excel schedules for teaching staff, laying out display boards, taping up boxes
so that they would not fall apart (I did this), the list was endless. The moment we finished one task, we found ourselves
embroiled in another. Some of us got
involved in cleaning out the storage while others were involved with putting
together games/ folders for children’s educational games. I even managed to fit in photocopying a book
for a teacher. It was all behind the scenes work that must happen for a school
to keep functioning effectively, work that teachers stay on to do after hours
or that parents volunteer to complete.
Time flew, as it does when
one is busy and having fun, and before we knew it was time to bid adieu. We had accomplished a lot and all the staff
was extremely appreciative of our efforts/ help. Famished, we headed over to Cactus on Alki
Beach, where amidst a lot of banter I polished off a Green Chimichanga. I headed home that day with a warm feeling in
my heart knowing that my efforts made some teacher’s life a little easier and
some child’s learning experience a lot more enjoyable.
Thanks.
Akshat
New to Seattle team member
Daniel is Provail’s newest Volunteer Award Recipient. Turns out if you show up, work hard and have a good attitude while doing it, people will take notice!
Last Saturday the "New to Seattle" team lent a
hand with Volunteer Chore Services. On a drizzly morning we showed up at home
in Beacon Hill ready to dust, weed and rake. Besides just the yard work...we
met a piece or work! The resident was filled with stories!
- Kathleen D'Amato
Seattle Works is focusing on "Healthy Spaces" this month, which means that Team Works volunteers spent this past Saturday at organizations that focus on issues like health care, adequate food, shelter, safety, civil rights and animal welfare.
Sixteen teams rolled up their sleeves at Camp Fire, Compass Center, Eastside Baby Corner, Food Lifeline, Lettuce Link, Neighborhood House, Ronald McDonald House, ROOTS Young Adult Shelter, The Wintonia, Transitional Resources, University District Youth Center and Volunteer Chore Services. Nice work!
Teams "Friends You Haven't Met Yet", "Twenties and Early Thirties", "Single Folks in their Twenties" and "Thirties Global Coolers" sort donations at Food Lifeline.
Who doesn't love a hairnet?
Team "Boeing LDE A" brightens things up at Transitional Resources.
Hey guys,
Treehouse Learning Center Coordinator
Posted by a volunteer who participated in our January volunteer trip in New Orleans.
I’ve been down in New Orleans this past week with 15 other Seattle Works folks (Patrick, Noelle, Susanna, Megan, Chris, Blake, Nora, Erin, Beth, Trisha, Kelsey, Michelle, Kristin, Laura and Gillian – with all of whom I feel I now share a special bond), and have joked several times “I just volunteer for the t-shirts.” While this has usually been my attempt at levity to try and keep the group loose and in good spirits, I now feel there is actual meaning to my statement.
I’m not one that always boasts about my volunteer activities; those close to me know I volunteer with Seattle Works regularly, that I am happy to discuss what we do, and I have even recruited some people to come join Team Works. However, I typically only wear my Seattle Works t-shirts on project days, or as lounge-around-the-house-wear; somewhat intentionally, as I have viewed my volunteerism as the very personal relationship between helping people in need and the feeling of satisfaction that I garner by helping to build a better community.
I guess what I didn’t expect from my New Orleans trip was the profound spiritual and emotional impact it would have on me. For all the city has been through, I am amazed at how resilient and friendly the local population has been: waiters and bar tenders, the principal of the elementary school in which we were working, the residents of the damaged homes still living in FEMA trailers, the congregation of a neighboring gospel church, and just passers-by on the street. Southern hospitality is not a myth, at least not in New Orleans.
Perhaps the most enlightening experience was when Shelton “Shakes” Alexander, a national poet who lived through Katrina (and is interviewed in When the Levies Broke) came to the volunteer house, shared his experience, recited several of his poems, and answered questions about the city’s recovery. Erin asked him pointedly “what more can we do to help?” Shelton answered simply “exactly what you are doing, being here.” Shelton then said it wasn’t so much the tasks we were performing; painting in schools, helping rebuilding homes, caring for animals in a shelter, etc., but rather the spirit that volunteers bring, that someone cares and is willing to help. Erin then asked “what can we do when we get back home?” Shelton responded, “Tell people about your experiences here, the destruction that is still evident, and how much more needs to be done. Hopefully, more volunteers will keep coming.”
The next day, I ventured off on my only solo excursion of the entire trip to the National World War II (D-Day) Museum. New Orleans was the production center of the Higgins boats, the beach landing craft like those seen in the movie Saving Private Ryan; of the 14,000 vessels in the U.S. Navy during the war, 8,800 were built in New Orleans, thus a good site for the museum. After viewing the exhibits, which were amazing, I ventured into the gift shop to buy, ironically, a t-shirt. The shop keeper asked “what is Seattle Works?” and I realized I was wearing my Team Works shirt, probably since it was the only thing clean on our last day! After explaining it was a volunteer community involvement organization, I mentioned that 16 of us were down here doing work to help with the Katrina recovery, and the shop keeper was really impressed and thankful for our group.
As my new friend Blake has mentioned several times during the trip, “I like interesting t-shirts, they are great conversation starters.” I couldn’t agree more. I plan on wearing my new purple Hands On New Orleans t-shirt with pride, and on collecting more volunteer t-shirts in hopes that they will all be great conversation starters and I can better pass along the kind of work being done by volunteers and how much more work is out there to be done for ours and other communities.
I really did do it all for a t-shirt.
Bryan Fiedor
Last Wednesday evening, the Seattle Works “men’s group” gathered at Treehouse for what promised to be an interesting evening of cooking and career discussion with the “boys group.” This was our third formal activity with the boys, or “dudes” as we prefer to call them, and was probably the most interactive yet (we previously went to a baseball game and visited the UW planetarium, and a smaller group of us had the chance to go shopping for holiday presents with Deion Branch of the Seahawks).
The men outnumbered the boys almost two-to-one, so there was plenty of quality time with each of the boys. We spent the early part of the evening preparing a Mexican feast of tacos and nachos. We split the boys into two groups – one for cooking duty in the Treehouse kitchen (cooking the taco meat, warming the tortillas, melting cheese over the nachos, etc.) and the rest of us chopped lettuce, grated cheese, and made guacamole. The kitchen crew emerged with a large skillet full of browned and seasoned taco meat. Meanwhile, several of us “mentored” the boys with our gourmet chopping and grating skills. There were no knife accidents while chopping lettuce and tomatoes or bloody knuckles while grating the cheese, so the preparations were a success. While all of this was happening, we all had the chance to talk casually with the boys about school, sports, etc.
After sitting down to a hearty feast of tacos, nachos, chips and guacamole, we had a lively conversation about careers. The men each wrote down on cards what their current occupation is and we asked the boys to each draw a card and guess which of the men that card represented. It was fun watching the kids guess which one of us was a banker, a political staffer, business consultant, etc. Next, we asked each of the boys what kinds of careers they are interested in pursuing after high school. The answers were fascinating! The answers included an artist/animator, architect, carpenter, scientist, and even an anesthesiologist!! Who knew that boys ranging in age from12-17 had such cool and creative career ambitions??
We are all having fun getting to know these boys and it is very rewarding to know that we are providing them with positive adult male role models, all in a fun and casual atmosphere. Originally we were only getting together with the boys every two months, but there seems to be consensus among us that we would all be willing to plan monthly activities for the rest of the school year. In February, we may try to do something fun like take them bowling. Stay tuned for our further adventures!
- John Hoey
… to help me resolve the emotion pull I was feeling when reflecting on our day at West Seattle Elementary and Pat’s post on his team’s project at a school in New Orleans (both below). West Seattle Elementary School's students and families face the challenges of poverty - 88% qualify for free or reduced school lunch - and, in many cases, the challenges of acclimating to life in a new country. They deserve better access to art, better access to play and a vibrant and welcoming school facility – all the things our project was about. But I can guarantee you that, despite its need of enhancements, no WSE student at any time would ever refer to their school as a “prison”. Compared to a group of trailers surrounded by fencing, the formerly institutional-looking hallways at WSE don’t seem quite so bad.
Then I remembered something that both Governor Gregoire and Representative McDermott shared at our project kick-off from Dr. King:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
All children deserve to go to school in a facility that is warm, welcoming and safe. And when it comes time to solve problems, you help where you can with the resources you’ve got. You see an injustice that you have the ability to impact and you do something about it. This weekend we had two amazing groups of volunteers enhancing schools each doing their parts, in their own ways, to build thriving communities.
-- Tara
