So on Sunday, October 16th, we had a fantastic event. AIDOS- All Ideologies Day Of Service. We had the event at Sanctuary of Hope, a perfect fit since many religious groups go there to pray and be at peace with nature.
The event was a great success! We had over 30 volunteers come! Everyone helped by cleaning, raking, shoveling, digging, watering and so much more! It was a great opportunity for so many diverse people to come together and work for the same cause.
Team Leader Joshua had some great service learning questions so we could all realize how different we all really are. We all also played a huuuggeee game of the human knot!! It was a blast.
All of the Team Leaders are so grateful to everyone who came out and participated this fall! We all got so much done and hopefully learned a little more about each other in the process.
This month in YAB.....
-The Team Leaders talked about how they've made giving back to the community a lifestyle and a career.
It was amazing that the team leaders were willing to share their stories with us, and YABers got the chance to learn more about our new YVC family members! I really enjoyed this because we get to talk to people who got to give back and help the community, and it was their job!!!!!!
-We began making personalized YVC handshakes!!!!!!!!!
-We also discussed fun ideas for ADIOS, other YAB meetings and a future Stories Of Service!!!! (I believe a chocolate fountain was mentioned!)
-Finally, the much anticipated YAB government was put into place, ready to take over the world with community service (and love and hopefully unicorns).
All in all the YAB boardroom was jam packed (literally) with fabulous people, great ideas and tons of fun!
Most high students my age would think me crazy for, or at least cringe at the mention of, attending meeting about volunteering at 10 am on a Saturday (not like that’s really that early, but that’s beside the point). But there I was in the YVCKC conference room, stuffed to the brim with other Youth Advisory Board (YAB) members.At the meeting, the second of this YVC year which runs parallel to the school year plus the summer months, we began with an icebreaker about our favorite things. The meeting continued and some basic plans for new YAB meetings and speakers, Saturday and afterschool projects, and events such as AIDOS. We also did another icebreaker, this one involving creating creating a handshake for reach member of the board which will be continued throughout the meetings.
The group was then split up into teams where they could spend some time with each of the new team leaders and learn about philanthropy as a lifestyle and how they had come to where they are now and possible directions they might be heading in this area. I learned about the definition of volunteering and her philosophy on this type of work from Maggie, living and working in a community with Joshua, and poverty that we associate with third world countries in the U.S. from Jessica. With Jordan, my group explored the idea that a change of plans isn’t bad and the importnace of making non-materialistic connections with those we help with Amanda.
I’m very much looking forward to this year of volunteering. I can tell this one is going to be pretty amazing.
Saturday happened to be the most uplifting experience for me to this date. Learning of all the different ways to help and be informed really helped me determine the course I am going to take in my life. Hearing about philanthropy rocked my boat the most. I feel like it's my duty to inform and act on the thing I feel most passionate about: poverty. This talk helped me get to the base of it. I came away from that meeting on a philanthropy high! :)
—Hannah
Who is responsible for improving the world? Philanthropy is private initiatives taken for public good, with a focus on quality of life. This is an interesting dynamic and begs the question of responsibility. Private initiatives taken for private good is capitalism, and public initiatives for public goods is government. Philanthropy is a personal commitment to improving the human condition. But with such vast suffering and such need for resources, time, commitment and creativity, where does the responsibility fall? Is it left to the motivated, the creative, the rich, the poor, the educated, the religious, the resourceful, the powerful, the divine? The responsibility to improve the world falls to everyone on the world.
The first thing to take into account is the backbone of most religions, many forms of government, democratic social structures and kinder garden classrooms- The Golden Rule: Treat others as you want to be treated. But it is more than just saying please and thank you, and not cutting people off on the highway :-) When stretched to encompass all of the world’s problems, the golden rule becomes more complicated. Humanities constant challenge is to understand and improve itself. And the effort needed to raise the quality of life on earth is huge. What is the method for this type of challenge? How do we apply the golden rule across the world? Morality is the sense of good and bad, right and wrong. It is a subjective sense, catering to individual preference, belief, culture and psychology. Studying morality is essential to understanding and improving the human condition. What is GOOD and BAD? What is RIGHT and WRONG? What is the GREATEST GOOD? Answers about morality and meaning come from human reason and knowledge of the natural world. It is an ever evolving process. Each generation must search for new methods for understanding and improving humanity. There is a unique responsibility behind the consequences of human decisions. And what can we learn from looking to nature? The natural world, composed of perfectly balanced ecosystems, transcends morality. Aristotle said "Nothing in nature happens in vain," and by looking to nature we can better use our sense of morality.
The morality of action should be judged by their consequences in the world. It is everyone’s duty to see their own actions as having consequence in the world, and take on a great deal of personal responsibility. You are responsible for- thinking for yourself, following your own curiosity, joining the search for new methods of understanding and improving humanity, questioning authority, using your own reasoning, being creative, holding high standards, loving human potential, and realizing that what you do impacts the state of the world and the future of humanity!
Last Saturday, Team Leader Kate and I helped lead a group volunteering with Farmer Joe at J-14 Enterprises, an organic farm just outside of Kansas City, KS. YVCKC has enjoyed working service projects with J-14 for years, and last weekend proved just as awesome. Despite the cold and rainy weather, about ten youth volunteers showed up for the project, and to kick things off we all sat and listened as Joe Jennings, the owner of J-14, advised us on the value of hard work, earnest care for the land, and personal responsibility.
After Joe's introduction, we spent a lot of time doing various jobs around the farm, including clearing weeds from around a grove of peach trees:
and picking jalapeno peppers:
At one point, Saomana and Tre'von decided to take a break from picking the peppers and try one. This was probably a bad idea.
We also helped clean out an old rabbit hutch, and a couple of the volunteers even got to pick some mustard greens that Joe donated to some families in need later that day.
It started to mist a little around 11:30, so we all met under a makeshift pavilion and discussed the difference between genetically modified foods and organic foods, and how Joe's farm helps the local community.
As we got ready to leave, Farmer Joe sent us home with signed certificates officially labeling us as "farm laborers." He expressed his sincere thanks over and over again, and invited us to come back again. Let's hope for another J-14 project soon!
This weekend we sent youth all over Kansas City. Here is a clip from Fox on the great volunteers we have serving our community:
This weekend makes an anniversary in our nation's past that needs to be remembered. I wanted to share the news story from last year and spread the word that there are still projects open for this weekend. September 11 was a time where a nation came together with support and comfort. Sign up and come be part of the community!
Check out this video of our news story and project from last year.
After our first YAB meeting on Saturday August 20th, the new Team Leaders and some Youth Volunteers went on an adventure to find our meeting spot for Grahovac's. Many of us were at least 30 minutes late... a few were even an hour late!! The Youth and Team Leaders decided to take a wonderful tour of Kansas City, Kansas before the project. We weren't actually lost!!
When we all arrived we were quickly put to work. Some volunteers pulled weeds in the mud, leaving them covered in mud from head to toe. Others cut down a natural wall and did an amazing job clearing away the weeds! Two Team Leaders got poison ivy from their work at the garden!
Two of the Youth Volunteers gave us a service learning lesson and taught the group about Grahovac's Army and told us why it was so important to help!
In the end the project was a messy success!!
On August 13 the new team leaders joined the youth on their first project to Sanctuary of Hope. We started with a few ice breakers then picked up some shovels and gloves for yard work. The youth worked on the rain trench, pulling weeds and painting a bench. Sanctuary of Hope can continue to live its mission of "keeping it as a place for wounded souls and hearts to heal". The youth and leaders recognized that each person can have a safe place to heal from the business of the world. It was a beautiful day with some beautiful people of the community.
|
RSS Feed