Be The Change in the World You Want To See

I suppose as women we have kids because we have this innate feeling of striving to make a difference and having an impact on something greater than ourselves. However, that feeling may never feel completely satisfied and as a result we are continuously yearning for ways to continue to make a difference in our neighborhoods, workplaces, or communities. The challenge is finding the time with all the regular responsibilities we are balancing to exercise our philanthropic desires.

I am fortunate that my employer facilitates a quarterly employee volunteer day. I had the opportunity to participate in one of these volunteer days yesterday. Our assignment was to work at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore (www.habitat.org) which is a resale outlet that collects donations such as house fixtures and resells the items to help fund Habitat for Humanity house construction. There are several ReStore locations nationwide and a majority of the stores are run by volunteers who work daily to stock and organize merchandise or work the store floor.

There are so many wonderful organizations that are in desperate need of help and thrive on volunteer support. Most organizations will take as much or as little time that people can give. Outside of the volunteer days scheduled by my employer, I rarely find time anymore to volunteer. As a result, I have researched volunteer options that include the ability to volunteer from home by providing online support or pro bono services. Organizations such as icouldbe.org allow you to be an online mentor for neglected high school students. As a volunteer, you can mentor up to 5 students online throughout the school year. You have the opportunity to communicate weekly with your mentees by sending emails and reviewing progress against activities that are developed as part of the icouldbe curriculum. The nice part about this program is that you can participate on your own schedule as long as you check in with your mentees weekly and provide regular feedback.

In addition to online volunteer programs, organizations are always looking for people who possess relevant skills to contribute on a pro bono basis. For example, my educational and professional experience are in marketing so I have helped one organization in particular, the US VETS DC develop and execute a marketing and outreach program to raise awareness and generate donations for the organization. Almost any non-profit would welcome similar support or other services such as accounting, legal, general consulting or financial advice.

My kids are not old enough yet, but in an effort to increase my ability to volunteer and to teach my kids the importance of giving back to their communities, in the future I intend to seek out volunteer activities that we can do together as a family. There are vast opportunities for parents and their kids to volunteer together in the community. Organizations or activities might include planting a tree for a school, playing games at the local retirement home, working at a pet adoption fair, cleaning up a local park, distributing flyers to generate outreach for an organization or passing out water at a race. The activity could be organized through an official organization or it could be an activity you decide to do as a family by gathering some friends and neighbors to make a difference.

Whatever your passion, there is likely to be an organization or activity where you can donate your time to make a difference. If your passion is kids, find a local hospital, school or park that might need help. Organizations such as The Children’s Inn at NIH (www.childrensinn.org), The Nation’s Children’s Hospital (www.childrensnational.org), or the March of Dimes (www.marchofdimes.com) are great organizations to seek out to learn about volunteer opportunities. If your passion is the environment, try the Sierra Club (http://www.sierraclub.org) or the Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org) . If your passion is animals check out the National Wildlife Federation (www.nwf.org), or The Humane Society (www.humanesociety.org). If your passion is health or helping to fight a prevalent disease try the Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.livestrong.org), Susan G. Komen Organization (ww5.komen.org), National Cancer Society (www.cancer.org), or the Michael J Fox Foundation (www.michaeljfox.org).

If you can’t spare time right now, you can still make a difference. Donate money, run a race to raise money or just become educated about an important cause and be an evangelist in the community for that cause. At the least you can strive to make a difference everyday at home and with everyone you encounter so that your positive attitude is contagious and encourages others to do their small part to make the world a better place.

Here We Go Round the Merry Go Round- A Trip to Glen Echo Park

Our trips to Glen Echo Park, MD are always centered around rides on the merry go round. This past weekend was the opening season for the merry go round at the park and Brice along with a couple of his buddies were among the first kids to break in the merry go round for 2010.

If you live in the DC metro area, I am guessing you have heard of Glen Echo Park. Up until last year when my first son, Brice turned 1, I had no reason to know about the park. In fact, my only exposure to the park prior to having kids was by accidentally parking my car in the lot while trying to have lunch at the Irish Inn (more on that later).

Like most of you, I am constantly looking for ideas and activities to keep my kids occupied (my younger son, Cole is too young to care but hopefully he reaps the benefits later of us checking out all the local activities and can eliminate anything that Brice does not enjoy). Glen Echo Park is just one of those local ideas that we have investigated as a family. If you are not familiar with the park and come upon it, you might think it is a ghost town, literally. Unless there is a special activity going on at the park, which fortunately is pretty frequent, the old amusement park looks desolate. However, from the first of May through early October, you can at least be guaranteed that the merry go round is open and that the playground is usable. The playground by normal standards is not really much, but since it is located adjacent to the merry go round, it offers a suitable alternative. I mean, how many times can your kids ride the merry go round? They might think all day, but you will either run out of money or eventually their short attention spans will wane. Despite there not being a lot to the playground, I do like the soft rubber surface and there are a couple of climbing apparatuses that are somewhat interesting. Of course there are a couple sets of swings and a small field to play on as well.

Aside from the merry go round and small playground, what else is there to do at Glen Echo Park? Before I get to the planned activities, I have to address the many picnic tables. The park is a great place for a picnic or even a birthday party. There must be close to 40 picnic tables. There is a small concession stand that sells your typical park food such as hot dogs, pizza and candy but if you are looking for something a little healthier, you’d better bring food from home. Of course if you don’t feel like a picnic nor are satisfied by junk food, you could always try the Irish Inn located next door (I told you I would revisit this topic). The Irish Inn is worth its own blog, but for now I will tell you that it is an authentic Irish restaurant that includes Irish favorites such as shepard’s pie, bangers and beans and of course plenty of Guinness. I believe most of the waiters are straight from Ireland, which adds to the experience. I highly recommend the restaurant whether you tack a visit on to a trip to Glen Echo Park or skip the park completely and simply go to enjoy the food.

Other than the Merry Go Round and the playground, I admit I don’t know much about the park. My step-dad, a Maryland native told me that the park was once a very popular amusement park. That is no surprise because the facade of the amusement rides, movie theater and candy stand still exist, they are just not typically in operation. Prior to being an amusement park, the location was a Chautauqua retreat. Clearly, there is a lot of history with the park.

Today, the park does play host to several festivals such as the Hot Jazz & Cool Blues Gala. Additionally, the park offers regular classes in pottery, painting, photography, glass art, music and textiles. There are often regular theater or puppet shows and dance activities. There is no shortage of educational activities, just be sure to check the park’s calendar so you are aware of what activities are planned.

I don’t really feel I’ve done the park justice by sharing my experiences with you. My family has not taken full advantage of everything the park has to offer. Maybe we will one day take a class, or attend a puppet show or even participate in one of the park’s festivals. In the meantime, we will continue to use the park for what my son enjoys the most, riding the “horsey’s” on the merry go round, being pushed on the swing set, climbing the jungle gym or just meandering around the big open space. A trip to the park usually means a stop by the Irish Inn, so I am always up for the visit.

Check out Glen Echo Park for yourself at http://www.glenechopark.org/index.htm or the Irish Inn at http://www.irishinnglenecho.com/.