Optimistic for 2017 The stakes always seem a little higher for nonprofits during the holidays. Whether theyâre heavily promoting opportunities for donors to give before the end of the year, trying to make the holidays special for every member of the community they serve, or addressing the needs
Gathering at the Dorothy Day House For the final night of my Volunteer Odyssey week, I had a bit of pre-work to do. I would be headed to the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality for an evening gathering, and they had asked that I bring âa simple dessert.â
A different kind of shopping experience On Saturday, I found myself at Catholic Charities of West Tennessee (CCWTN) preparing to go shopping for a family of nine. I had initially assumed this meant I would be jumping in my car and heading to the nearest Target. As it
A different sort of Christmas tree I have always done my best to avoid falling back on clichĂ©s in my writing. Thus, I found it difficult to describe my volunteer experience at Snowy Nights in the Memphis Botanic Gardenâs My Big Backyard on Friday evening. As the designated
Preparing Christmas cards for delivery Upon my arrival at Church Health tonight, volunteer coordinator Rebekah Heacock presented me with two options for helping with their annual Christmas card fundraising program. The first option was to hand write the cards and address the corresponding envelopes. I briefly described the
Prior to embarking on my Meals on Wheels delivery route this morning, I watched a brief training video in which WMC-TV anchorman Joe Birch cheerfully informed me that I should try to make conversation with the homebound senior citizens I would be meeting. âYou may be the only person they
A fraction of the books available at the Pop Up Bookstore One of my recurring career aspirations in my twenties was to be a librarian. I once had occasion to survey a whole group of librarians about their jobs, and they were all very quick to make one
Cake-fueled creativity âPromises to children are sacred.â This mantra from my days as a KIPP teacher kept scrolling through my mind as I promised several dozen elementary school kids that they would absolutely all get to have one of the pieces of cake spread out on the table
Life on the Mississippi I think of myself as a Memphian. After all, I spent the first 18 years of my life in this city. I went ice skating at the Mall of Memphis, ate my weight in Danverâs cheeseburgers, and still refer to the flagship university as