Posted on May 31st, 2010 by Jane Collins
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 [...]
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Posted on April 21st, 2010 by Jane Collins
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. [...]
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Posted on December 6th, 2009 by Jane Collins
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 [...]
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Posted on November 19th, 2009 by Jane Collins
As I prepare to move the “Get Out and Give Back” blog and newspaper column to a bigger writing/speaking/coaching venue, I realized that I’d been spending too much time in the last few months holed up developing the business and not enough time contributing and serving. So, yesterday (Wednesday) I pried my fingers off of my laptop [...]
Filed under: Donating, Faith-based, Giving, Homelessness, Humanity, In the Neighborhood, Kindness | 1 Comment »
Posted on June 11th, 2009 by Jane Collins
Earlier this month it was my honor to deliver the commencement address at my alma mater high school in Bellefontaine, Ohio. There’s always something safe about going home. Mary Rutan Park still has its four tennis courts and the pool is still open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
As I encouraged Bellefontaine’s 202 [...]
Filed under: Children, Education, Family, In the Neighborhood | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 12th, 2009 by Jane Collins
Everyone loves a sale. But, rather than fighting through the clearance racks for winter markdowns, I volunteered the other day with ReStore, the resale outlet whose proceeds help fund local Habitat for Humanity projects.
ReStore (http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx) sells used and surplus building materials at a fraction of normal prices-up to 90 percent, according to Herb, [...]
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