Reality Town

I had the opportunity to volunteer at the local Jr. High with the YMCA to participate in an event called Reality Town.  It is a really neat experience where the students are assigned a life situation and an income, and they have to go to different booths and purchase essentials like a home, and automobile, car insurance and health insurance.   They have expenses for however many children they are assigned and have costs for groceries etc.  I think it helps teenagers recognize how much it takes to run a household, even if it is for a brief moment.  I worked the car insurance table.  It was a really fun time!

Some of my favorite moments were:

• We had to send an individual away because there was not enough money left for car insurance. Why? Because he had spent 1400.00 of his monthly budget on groceries.
• We had a young person return to our table because they had to trade in their BMW for a more sensible car, because they did not have enough money in the budget. 
• Many of the students came to our table before they purchased a car, and seemed miffed that they could not purchase insurance without an automobile. 
• How upset the students would get if they were assigned traffic tickets, that their auto insurance rates went up. 

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to help out, and hopefully can participate again next year!

 I volunteered last night. I confess I occasionally feel useless. You have to be careful in this setting with boundaries - and I am still becoming accustomed to it. I have been able to help with some spreadsheets and documents that are easier for me to update/re-create than some of the staff.   Overall though, I wish I could do more. 

Last night, though, was a little different. There was an infant boy who was fussy.  It is hard on the children. They don't choose their situation, they are in a strange place- in a community living setting, and they struggle a little because they don't understand.

I got to hold him for about 20 minutes.  As I tried to distract him by pointing out colors and cars outside, and I rocked him and he laid on my shoulder, He is a wonderfully innocent little dude, and absolutely darling. In those short minutes while his mother got a short break, I tried to give him a lifetime of love, to tell him soul to soul that no matter what this life threw at him, he could handle it.

I honestly hope this little dude does not remember this time of his life, but I was grateful for the opportunity to feel like my service was worth something.

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The Patience of a Social Worker

I have begun my service at a facility called the YCC.  It is a community center in downtown Ogden.   I volunteer four hours a week in the domestic violence shelter.  Last night was my fourth night there and It has really been an eye opening experience for me.  Due to confidentiality I cannot talk a lot about specifics, but I can say that people who pursue and continue in Social Work are true Angels on Earth.

Currently I feel a little useless. I don't really know what I can or cannot do or say. I need to realize that it comes with time.  I try to help in the ways I know how.  They had an old copy of a spreadsheet that the electronic copy had long since disappeared. I created a new one, but that is so small compared to the needs of the shelter and the people there. 

Last night I cleaned the toy box.  I was able to organize the playroom a little- it makes time go a little faster when I am not just sitting waiting for the phone to ring. Also, that is something that I know is really hard to mess up!

As I listen to the individuals there and hear snippets of what brought them in, I am deeply touched and humbled and I realize that I could not do this for a full time job.  4 hours weekly is enough to drain my positive energy and occasionally make me feel a bit of despair.  I don't know how the individuals who work this day in and day out- who have to listen to the in depth details of the horrors in the lives of others- how they can make it, and still be kind, honest and generous people.   They also show kindness and are able to take the time to teach these people some skills that they can use going forward.  I admire their abilities to exercise patience and love on behalf of another person, and perhaps, create more beauty in the lives they serve.

I was not blessed with patience and I struggle to understand sometimes where others are coming from.  I am learning that there is a phenomenal amount of patience and genuine charity that goes into social work, and one day, perhaps one day I will have the patience of a Social Worker.

Somewhere to be of service!

Finding a place to become a regular volunteer proved to be a little challenging. I think mostly because I was trying to contact them around Christmas, which is a hugely busy time for any charitable organization. I finally received an e-mail back on Monday from one of the places I applied-  the YCC.   I was so excited. 

For a moment there I was wondering why I could not get a volunteer assignment... I felt kind of like I was applying for a job where I knew I could be valuable- but could not get anyone to talk to me about it. If nothing else, I could weed their garden in the summertime...I have skills for that!

YCC stands for Your Community Connection.  It is a Domestic Violence Shelter that serves the Ogden area.  I went in today for a short orientation and to fill out the paperwork.  I will begin next week.  Supposedly it is a 6 month assignment. 

I am excited to see where this adventure leads. I am sure it will provide me many opportunities for growth- and hopefully my skills can help them in a deeper way than answering phones, or completing and filing paperwork.   If that all that they need though, I am absolutely willing to help in whatever way I can. 

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Gratitude

My website has now been published for about 48 hours.  I am so excited about the response! I had a friend tell me today  "let me know when you get your first donation!"  I was thrilled to inform him that I already had several! The generosity of people has warmed my heart and humbled me.    A Heartfelt THANK YOU- to everyone.  Even those who have just looked!

I initially needed approximately 400,000 people to donate fifty cents!  I am down to about 399,800 now!  (I need to get with a tax accountant and get an accurate figure...) Please spread the word, inform your friends! If you find a penny in the grocery store parking lot- send it my way!

I have included three excerpts of  responses for my survey to the question "Why did you Donate?"  One person said "You are genius and I want this to work for you!",   while another said "It sounded like a great idea!" and finally one person said  "I don't give a hoot about Rachel's hair and whether it's attached to her head or not. Rachel has been a good friend to me for many years."   
 

I cannot thank you enough for your responses, friendship and support. 

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PUBLISHED!!!

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