I admit to being a little nervous this morning as I got ready for the first day of my Volunteer Odyssey at Memphis City Beautiful. In fact, that may have been the reason that I lost my keys inside of my car before I even made it in the office. This led to a few panic-filled minutes, worrying that I would be late, as I frantically searched my car, which was parked only a few hundred feet from the front door of the office. Finally, keys firmly in hand, I walked into the office and was met by Cyndy Grivich Tucker, the Program Coordinator.

Stuffing envelopes with Cyndy Grivich Tucker, the Program Coordinator.

Cyndy turned out to be my chaperone for the morning as she led me to a table piled high with letters and flyers to be folded, and envelopes to be stuffed and taped. The envelopes would then be sent to schools around the city to promote the 25th Annual Beautify Your School Contest. I think sometimes those of us on the outside of an organization forget just how much work goes into every event, program and project that the organization hosts. We see the finished products – the beautified schools, the bags of garbage from a lake clean up, the magical flowers created from children’s imaginations and some trash, the trees planted by hundreds of elementary students, the pictures of volunteers working together to make Memphis a more beautiful place. We fail to grasp the number of hours put in behind the scenes.

As I readied myself for a morning of folding, stuffing and taping, I took the opportunity to gaze around the room. My attention was immediately drawn to a number of flower pots lining the wall. Each pot boasted its own beautiful, creative flower made out of random items of trash. Cyndy explained to me that these were the centerpieces made by kids for their annual Trashion Show in which local artists and designers create outfits made of trash. How much more fun could it get to educate people about recycling and waste reduction?!

Centerpieces for the Trashion Show.

As Cyndy told me more about the awesome things that Memphis City Beautiful does throughout the year, the time flew by and the finished envelopes began to pile up. Cyndy was quite the font of information, filling me in on the upcoming events in which I can get involved, telling me the history of the organization (Did you know it is the oldest local chapter of Keep America Beautiful, started around 1930? Did you know the office is actually a house built in the 1840s?), helping me understand the local geography and giving me directions to the best international farmer’s market! When it was time for me to leave, I had a mountain of finished envelopes, a stack of flyers of my own about upcoming events, new places to visit and try around Memphis, and an appreciation for the passion and hard work of the Cyndy and her two teammates that comprise the staff of Memphis City Beautiful.

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