My goal is to help YOU find your service passion — your contribution in this world.Each month I try a new service adventure and encourage you to try one also and post your stories here.

 I love to eat.

 In fact, I’ll eat just because I’m happy, sad, nervous, relaxed, angry, stressed or excited. Sometimes I’ll even eat when I’m not even hungry if there’s food is in front of me.

 And so it was quite the scary experience for me recently when, aside from half of a chicken sandwich and an apple, I was unable to eat for 36 hours. Through a combination of bad luck and bad timing, my husband and I were halfway through an 18-hour train ride in Europe when I realized that the apple and sandwich were all I’d eaten since the night before.

 My stomach was growling and rumbling, demanding to be fed. No worries, I thought. The past two legs of the train ride had dining cars (which we regretfully didn’t use) so I planned to visit the dining car on the next train, which we were boarding in ten minutes. 

 Except this particular train didn’t have a restaurant car, or even a guy who would walk up and down the aisles selling candy. It was an overnight train and apparently it didn’t accommodate late night snackers.

 So not only was I starving, but it would be at least seven hours before I’d even have access to food. It was not an option. Food simply wasn’t available.

 And I panicked.

 Of course it all ended well and I bee-lined for a Snickers bar the minute the overnight train pulled into the next station, but it really gave me time – seven hours of time, to be exact – to think about the millions of people who wake up hungry each day and wonder if they’ll have food sometime in the next seven hours. 

      Or seven days.
     
      It reminded me of the volunteer work I’d done in the last few months at our church and Food and Friends (www.foodandfriends.org). The church project required making 50 turkey and cheese sandwiches, stuffing them in a baggie, and placing them, along with two Oreo cookies, in a paper bag for next-day distribution to the neighborhood’s needy.
     
      In contrast, Food and Friends was a sophisticated operation where I placed premade meals on a conveyor belt that automatically sealed them, and then another volunteer would label them and place the sealed meals on a tray inside a wheeled cafeteria cart. If I was too slow in my tray-placing, the conveyor belt would get ahead of me and I was trapped in that famous Lucy-and-Ethel scenario at the candy factory.
     
      But the common thread for me was that until my teensy brush with the possibility of real hunger, I had worked both projects rather mindlessly, thinking more about when I’d be finished and where I’d go to lunch afterward (really). I remembered a conversation with a friend not too long ago, where she viewed such rote work as unchallenging.
     
      Maybe it is. But someone has to pack the lunches because someone, maybe closer than you think, is hungry and can’t get to food. 
     
      Get out and give back.

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     When I decided to be more conscious about how and where to donate time and money, I had no idea that the decision process would be so much like dating. With so many nonprofits in existence, and all of them in need, how do you find Mr. or Ms. Right?

             As I began the selection process I learned what was important to me.

             Mission. As I scrolled through online lists of nonprofits, I was drawn toward those whose mission helped people move out of poverty. Still, that left hundreds of non-profits focused on education, literacy, at-risk children, job skills and mentoring.

             High Impact.  The charity had to spend most of its funds on direct programming and show measureable, positive results. This part was easy. Since I live near Washington, DC, I used the Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy (http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy-dc.org). Or, any donor can review a nonprofit’s tax returns through the Foundation Center (www.foundationcenter.org), by clicking on “Find Funders” then “990 Finder.”

             Location.  The charity had to be located somewhere that I could walk to or use public transportation if I were to volunteer on a regular basis. We live in an urban area and can walk or bike almost anywhere, so as silly as that sounds, I was surprised at how quickly I eliminated a nonprofit from my search if I’d have to drive.

        Long-term relationship (LTR) potential. Finally, and eventually most importantly, the nonprofit had to make me feel valued. Call me insecure, but if I’m going to donate money over the long haul, I want to feel appreciated. Nonprofit staff, especially those at small organizations, are overworked, but I needed to know that they were as interested in me as I was in them.

           It really was like dating. No wonder this process took months. I emailed my list of nonprofits to express an interest in donating time and money, and to know more about them. Then I waited for them to respond.

             One nonprofit emailed me the name of their donor coordinator and told me to contact him if I wanted to write a check. Cross that one off the list. Geez.

             Then the executive director of Suited for Change (www.suitedforchange.org), invited me to her agency. Busy as she was, she spent an hour with me, talking about their issues, accomplishments and long term plans.

             Did Suited for Change meet my criteria? 

             Location. Yes, their office is located a few blocks from a metro stop.

            Mission. Yes, they provide professional clothing and career and life skills education to low-income women. I’d volunteer by helping their clients find interview-type clothing. In other words, I’m shopping. Gotta love it. 

             High Impact. Yes, they are listed in the Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy.

             LTR potential.  Yes, they were interested and I was interested. I think we’ll be together for awhile.

             I wrote a check and felt giddy about my new crush. Great way to start a LTR.

             Get out and give back.

Filed under: Donating, Nonprofits I've Checked Out | No Comments »

     When my nephew planned to visit us over spring break, I panicked. How do you entertain a 16-year-old boy for four days? I thought he might like the play Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center, a witty comedy with lots of audience participation. I logged onto the Kennedy Center’s website and scanned the available seats. There weren’t many left but I picked the two best seats available and clicked the “purchase” link. An electronic timer told me I had a 20 minute hold on the seats so I filled in the reservation and billing information as fast as I could. A slew of disclaimers and warnings popped up, which I impatiently clicked past until the confirmation page appeared. Done! I congratulated myself on my fast-acting brilliance. 
     
      Except that in my haste, I bought the tickets for a performance a week before his arrival. I reread those disclaimers and warnings again. No refunds. No date switching. What to do?
     
      Time for more fast-acting brilliance. I emailed my friends. Not interested, they said. I posted on Craigslist, advertising the deal of the month. No luck. What if I donated them?  Maybe a charity could auction them as a fundraiser. Nope. With the performance date within two weeks, it sounded like way too much work.
     
      So I called a dear, wonderful friend, a single mom who juggles a high-pressure job with raising a preteen girl. Could she could leave work at a decent hour and take her daughter to a Thursday night, 5 p.m. performance?
     
      Yes! She almost screamed into the phone. If I’d flown her to Bali for a spa weekend she couldn’t have been happier. My friend, it turns out, suffers from Single Working Mom Guilt Syndrome (SWMSG), which seems to afflict nearly 100% of single working moms. SWMSG and SWDGS (for the dads) have no known cure, although it mysteriously vanishes the day the kids move out of the house. Aside from a brief respite on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, symptoms include a continual stream of stress, anxiety and the recurrent desire to clone and teletransport.
     
      Who knew that a pair of tickets could provide temporary relief from such an insidious illness? The play was six weeks ago and my friend and her daughter still talk about it. They quote from it, laugh about it and might even see it again. That wonderful experience, my friend said, would have never happened had I not called her.
     
      Looking back, I’m glad that no one bought the tickets from me. Actually, I’m kind of glad that I accidentally bought them in the first place.
     
      And my nephew and I saw the play the following week.
     
      Get out and give back.

Filed under: Donating, Family, Giving, In the Neighborhood | No Comments »

I took almost a year off from writing Get Out and Give Back after retiring from the United States Air Force to decide what I wanted my post-Air Force life to look like. And I realized that I missed writing for you. I missed the connection. I missed giving back. So here it is again. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it:

 Thursday mornings are my favorite part of the week. From nine o’clock until noon I volunteer with the underserved at a local church. The joy that the gift of service brings me is a peace that I haven’t felt anywhere else.

But lately this joy has bothered me. The clients we help don’t seem to enjoy Thursday mornings nearly as much as me. They sit in a waiting area for up to three hours for their name to be called. Then they wait another twenty minutes or more as we determine if we have enough money to help them pay their rent, buy clothes, or prevent their utilities from being cut off. Many of those we serve don’t work, but nearly all of them are trying. I can’t tell you how many of them have given me business cards, advertising their willingness to rake leaves or shovel snow. What a humbling experience it must be for them to ask for assistance week after week.

 And, I’ve ask myself, if I’m so satisfied by assisting them, why don’t I do more? I’ve brought in food or clothing or bus tokens on occasion, but if I were really serious about serving them, wouldn’t I make some real personal sacrifices? Would I be willing to shop less or eat out less to give more resources to the needy?

 I was starting to feel like a phony.

 Then yesterday, while at the church, I found myself getting impatient and irritated with one of the homeless women with whom I was working. She couldn’t articulate her issue clearly, and it took me several phone calls and a twenty minute “please hold” to find out how to best assist her. When I got up to make a third phone call on her behalf, I heard the impatience in my voice to her and stopped to regroup.

 And I realized that my minor annoyance was nothing compared to her annoyance, so to speak, of living on the streets and waiting three hours to rectify a ten dollar issue. And ultimately I had to refer her to another service agency before her problem could be solved.

Then I couldn’t help my next client because we had run out of money. She also needed ten dollars.

 I can bring a few extra dollars each week and help out some more if I want to. I don’t know if I will or not, but I do know that I have complete control over how much I choose to give of my time and money. Feeling guilty about not giving enough is a wake-up call to re-evaluate my priorities. And that’s something I can do.

 Get out and give back.

Filed under: Homelessness, Humanity, In the Neighborhood, Uncategorized | No Comments »

I can honestly say that I am very thankful. I grew up in a home with about eleven people. I am 29 years of age at this moment. We had to go behind grocery stores into dumpsters for our next meal. Life was ruff growing up, but always a lesson to learn. Today in life I am very talented. I have written a book, and write most of the songs for a very talented gospel singer. None of my skills meet the eye of attention, because my job at hand is fast food. I am hurting everyday of my life, but its okay. I have a sleeping disorder, and the mask to this maching is barely put together. I have to tie something over my face to hold it throughout the night to get some sleep.(I can’t afford it). I have bills that are due in the house that I can’t seem to get ahead of. My refridgerator is empty and family doesn’t really act like family because money is the root to all evil.(So I don’t bother them). Despite all of my problems I have learned that the only father, mother, brother, and sister, I have is god. I pray before bed, and when I awake I thank god. I push myself to keep going, so to anyone that read my page, trust god. I am still living so I thank him everyday no matter what. (try prayer

Filed under: Faith-based, Guest Bloggers | No Comments »

A friend’s email signature ended with a link that said “Emailing for the Greater Good – Join me.”  So I followed the link to see what it was all about.

Turns out, it appears to be a partnership between MicroSoft and Greater Good (see my “Point. Click. Serve” post) where every time you use Windows Live Messenger or Windows Live Hotmail, Greater Good shares part of their ad income with one of the causes listed on the link. Here’s the link if you want to try it:

http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Home/?source=EML_WLHM_GreaterGood

Just for fun, I looked up the Charity Navigator rating for each of the 10 non-profits that can receive funding when yoiu send an email.  Here’s the ratings (four stars is the highest and best rating):

American Red Cross – 3 stars

Boys and Girls Clubs of America – 2 stars (hey, someone needs to clean up over there)

Humane Society of the United States – 4 stars

National AIDS Fund – 4 stars

National Multiple Sclerosis Society – 3 stars

ninemillion.org – not listed on Charity Navigator but it’s part of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees

Sierra Club – not listed on Charity Navigator

stopglobalwarming.org – not listed on Charity Navigator

Susan G. Komen Foundation – 4 stars

UNICEF – 4 stars

I narrowed my choice down to those organizations with 4-star ratings (hey, gotta reward good behavior!) and chose UNICEF.  With all of the emails I crank out daily, UNICEF won’t know what to do with all of their newfound funding!

Try it – give a click.

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Thursday mornings are my most favorite time of the week.  That’s when I spend two or three hours helping the underserved in our community at a neighborhood church.  Most of the people who show up are regulars, and I’ve gotten to know them by name, if not by face.

I’m torn between what I can do to help and what I don’t do.  I couldn’t answer the blind guy who asked me why God was punishing him, after he’d spent his life helping other people.  How do you answer that?  I asked a priest about it later and she said that my answer (“I don’t know but it’s not fair”) was what she would have said.

Then there was the woman, unemployed, eight months pregnant with three other kids, who refused my offer of a box of infant clothes because they were clothes for a baby girl and she was expecting a boy.  WHAAAAAAAAAAA????  And some of the clothes were yellow. 

I know dignity is that last thing people have and it’s something I try to respect and honor in everyone I serve.  But I just don’t get the baby clothes thing.

Filed under: Faith-based, Giving, Homelessness, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Turning a year older stopped being fun at 21.  But my birthday this winter was one of my all-time favorites, and not because I’m closer to caving in to a botox temptation.  It’s because of the full-spectrum events that day. 

Mike and I woke up that morning on the floor of a church, where we’d spent the night as volunteers for homeless shelter overflows.  It wasn’t that cold out and only ten men showed up.  Each of them had been here before and they knew what to do.  Since they’d already showered and eaten at the shelter, they just signed in, took their blankets and found a place inside the church to sleep for the night.  Some slept on the pews and some slept on the floor.  But, since they came around 8 p.m., (the homeless shelter staff drove them here) they spent a few hours in the back watching TV and eating snacks.  All of us watched Mr. T from “The A Team” and talked a little.  One guy was a chess whiz and was telling me chess strategies. 

I realized once again that any negative stereotypes I had about the homeless were wrong.  They didn’t try to sneak out of the door or break the rules.  They just wanted a place to sleep.   A few of them asked us to wake them around 5 a.m. so they could collect their McDonald’s breakfast coupon and bus token early and catch the bus to work.

Mike and I slept in the entrance of the church.  Mike took the 10 – 2 shift while I slept (about 20 minutes, I think) and I took the 2 – 6 shift.  We brought a flashlight so the awake one of us could read, but mostly it was a struggle to just stay awake and stay out of the junk food snacks that the church provided.

And then that evening … I was asked to interview Cal Ripken, Jr., as part of my new job at Washington Life Magazine.  The event was at the Canadian Embassy.   So, 12 hour after waking up on a church floor and wishing our ten homeless men a productive and happy day, I was surrounded by glamour, gourmet appetizers and an international role model. 

Ripken was being honored by the non-profit Super Leaders for his work with at-risk children.  Looking back on it, I should have asked the homeless men what they thought of him.  I wonder if they would have known him more for his baseball records or for his extensive work with underserved kids.

Filed under: Homelessness | No Comments »

I ran into Lenore last week on my way to do my Wednesday service work at our church.  Lenore was with a younger guy, and she was walking away from the church entrance, not toward it.  Knowing that Lenore normally shows up on Wednesdays to get food and some help with her bills, I asked her if she would be coming by to see us. 

Yes, I am, she replied, but she couldn’t make it today because she needed to ring the Salvation Army bell a few blocks away.  She asked me if she could give a letter to our project manager tomorrow, and I said I’d tell the project manager to expect to hear from her.

Lenore and her escort slowly walked off toward her Salvation Army appointment.  Over the last few days I’ve wondered how many people would postpone a chance for food or money to volunteer for someone else.  At the very least, our church waiting room had coffee, pastries and heat.  Lenore would be out in the cold, ringing her Salvation Army bell, imploring people to give their spare change to someone who needed it more than her.

Would you forego a necessity to help someone else?  I know my answer, and I don’t like it. 

Thanks, Lenore.  You’ve inspired me more than you know.

Get out and give back. 

Filed under: Donating, Giving, Humanity, In the Neighborhood | No Comments »

apt-letter-of-intent.pdf

Questions for Get Out and Give Backget-out-and-give-back-questions.doc

I’m looking for people to be nominated as a possible person to be profiled on the “Get Out and Give Back” television show.  (If you are unfamiliar with this show, you can view the demo here):

http://65.109.45.213/portfolio.asp?itemId=100

This show has been accepted by American Public Television (APT) for national distribution on public television once underwriting is secured (see attachment).  That means that this show has not yet been funded, and although I am aggressively pursuing underwriters, I cannot guarantee when it will happen.

Having said that, the Get Out and Give Back business includes the television show, as well as my public speaking, writing and coaching, all in service of inspiring people to contribute and give back.  To encourage people and organizations to contribute, I’m asking each of you for your permission to tell your stories in my speaking, writing, potential book-writing, and television show.  (“Writing” means any non-book writing, such as magazine articles, the Get Out and Give Back blog, etc.).  I will not use your name in any of my coaching work.  The attached questionnaire include an agreement that I’m asking you to initial and sign, that basically says you’re OK with all of this.  Would you please complete the questions in the attachment then scan/email it back to me? 

The unique focus of Get Out and Give Back is that it focuses on the change made within the individual who has found his/her contribution, rather than the contribution itself.  I believe this perspective has been under-emphasized and the “what I get out of giving” viewpoint can create a desire in people to more actively seek out and want to contribute.  Your stories of how finding your unique contribution, and how it matches who you are (if it does), will certainly inspire others to look within themselves and seek out the kinds of contribution that feels most authentic to them.

If you have any questions at all, please contact me at jane@getoutandgiveback.com.  And please feel free to forward this email on to anyone else you know who has profoundly changed after finding their way to contribute, and invite them to participate!  

I wish each of you a very happy holiday, full of cheer and love. 

Jane

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