Write a blog entry describing your experiences at a project - or even your thoughts about volunteering. What have you noticed about working in Boston, or what are you looking forward to this summer? The blog is a wonderful way to catch up on the stories of our active members and to see what your comrades are doing in the service field.
If your entry is posted in this blog, you will be able to choose one of the fabulous prizes pictured here.
Please send your submissions to Kellyn Shoecraft.
As I swelter in the warm afternoon sun, sweat-drenched inside my Tyvek suit, I remove my respirator so I can wipe my
foggy face shield, and I ask myself, "Am I an
idiot to be here?"
Since 8 a.m. I've been standing on a ladder, pulling down drywall and dodging ceiling tiles, moldy insulation and the occasional mouse-sized cockroach when a section of the ceiling finally succumbs to my crowbar.
Now it's almost 3 p.m. After hauling countless wheelbarrows full of dirt at a park-creation project yesterday, and hoisting my umpteenth barrel of debris to the dumpster today, my back muscles are threatening to go on strike and my arms may just walk out in sympathy. But I'm focused on how hot I am inside this suit. I unzip it, sit down outside the veterinary clinic we're gutting, and think about my experience in New Orleans.
I think about the front-page articles in this morning's paper: A quarter of those New Orleans residents who have stuck it out this long say they are thinking of leaving because the pace of recovery is so slow. The water board of this poor city lacks the money to rebuild its system. A plan to restore the wetlands that could protect the city from future storms will take years to navigate the approval process, by which time hundreds more square miles of wetlands could disappear into the Gulf.
Yesterday's headlines were no more cheerful.
I think about how little change I've seen since my last trip down five months ago, about the neighborhoods where only a handful of people have returned, the thousands who still live in tiny FEMA trailers two years after Katrina.
I reflect on the "Thou shalt not kill signs" posted throughout Central City in response to a wave of violence, including some shootings just two blocks from where we've been staying.
I remember the security guard who said he appreciated us coming down, but who predicted that "those people" would vandalize the playground some of our Boston Cares volunteers had just built.
I recall the group of men sitting and drinking across the street from where we were converting a vacant lot into a park, watching but not offering to help improve their neighborhood. Perhaps poverty, prejudice, poor schools and too many other factors to name had conspired to keep hope a lie for them. This is not a town where hope is easy to come by.
In my head I run through the long list of complaints I've heard about the slow pace of recovery. I still hear the elderly Central City woman telling me she hadn't received a dime from the government or insurance companies, so she had to spend her 401(k) retirement savings to fix her house.
Is there even a recovery plan, or are we just practicing random acts of debris removal? There are thousands of inner city kids without good jobs and years of work for thousands of apprentice carpenters, plumbers and electricians, but no program to take care of both needs at once.
Where to start in the face of all this? Why continue? And why am I rebuilding a shelter for animals today when so many people still lack homes?
Then a woman walking her dog says hello to the vet, who has been working alongside us. She asks when he's reopening the clinic. I realize that in a city where so many services we take for granted are still lacking, she must view the clinic's reopening as a hopeful sign that her neighborhood is coming back.
I think about all the residents I've met who are determined to stick it out, and of the generosity displayed by those with the least to share. Everywhere we go, New Orleanians who suspect the rest of the country has forgotten them are quick to thank volunteers for coming. Yesterday a church group from one of the city's poorest neighborhoods treated about 50 volunteers to lunch. Two women from the neighborhood cooked dinner for 100 volunteers at Hands On New Orleans. A man living in a FEMA trailer bought lunch for a volunteer crew, even though we were working on a neighbor's house, not his.
There was the woman who had lost her home and her business because of the flood, but who was helping to organize a benefit for musicians who had lost their homes.
Then there are the volunteers. The Boston Cares group I'm with displays the same enthusiasm for these tough, dirty jobs as it does for exploring the French Quarter at night. In less than a week, 30 strangers and distant acquaintances have become good friends.
We're led by Americorps volunteers in their teens and early 20s, who call a six by two bunk among 100 roommates home for two to three months as they perform this hard work every day for something like $13 a day. Many of the Hands On staff who unflappably organize everything in the midst of chaos have been here a year or more.
Some of my new, Tyvek-clad friends walk past me, dragging another heavy barrel of debris. I'm not helping them by sitting here.
No, in my week down here, I am not going to see every abandoned neighborhood spring back to life. I won't cut the red tape impeding the recovery. I won't make a dent in solving the problems of poverty and economics, race and class, education and inequality that afflicted this city even before the storm.
But that corner of the ceiling near the clinic's entrance, where there's still tile holding up some moldy insulation? I put my respirator back on, grab my crowbar, and head back inside to do something about that.
Spending a Saturday afternoon in the North End taking in the aromas and admiring the architecture seemed fabulous enough for me, so I was pleasantly surprised when this explorations tour went beyond the usual tourist fare.
While at first glance the churches and buildings along the brick sidewalks may seem like facades on a movie set, our group got a hearty helping of history, anecdotes, and trivia that seasoned the tour like a fine marinara. From the
colorful maritime history of North Street to the St. Lucy statue in St. Leonard's Church that deserves a "second glance" there was plenty of local lore to absorb and scribble onto the map handout (if you want to impress your future visitors).
As expected, there was commentary on Sacco & Vanzetti and the Molasses Flood of 1919 as well as some tie-ins to colonial days. However, we saw not only shadows of the neighborhood's past, but also a glimpse of the present. As our group strolled down and around the streets and alleyways, we encountered many friends of our tour guide which gave the tour a feeling of taking a leisurely stroll around a friendly lived-in neighborhood. At times when our group stopped into people's hidden gardens or surrounded a quaint corner house, the excursion seemed to be, as our Boston Cares project coordinator Tiffany put it, the "home invasion tour."Fortunately, our group was not unwelcome, mainly because of our enthusiastic and well-liked guide.
Our tour guide's excitement about the North End was contagious. Among the numerous factoids served up on this tour, I was intrigued to learn in the Old North Church that Paul Revere's famous signal of "two if by sea"referred to the Charles River. Additionally, we got to visit with a long-time resident whose basement houses some now blocked off tunnels with a curious connection to some allegedly stolen statues in the Old North Church. These elements made the trip feel like a true exploration of the neighborhood.
Even though our guide successfully impressed upon us the importance of seeing the North
~ Lisa Gallegos
I only joined Boston Cares this past November, and already I have found it to have become such a huge part of my life. During the winter I mainly stuck to the indoor volunteer projects (i.e. sorting baby items at Room to Grow, sorting food at the Greater Boston Food Bank, Knitting for the Greater Good, etc), so as soon as it got warm out, I was very excited to sign up for some outdoor projects! One of the projects I signed up for was the Earth Day Celebration at the Stone Zoo. I had not been to the Stone Zoo since I was in grade school, so I was very interested in going back as an adult- this time to help out!
I arrived at the Stone Zoo, which was very quick & easy to get to by car from , and met up with my group at the. After getting a bright orange T-shirt to wear for the day, the friendly staff of their Special Events team explained our duties to us and allowed us each to choose what we wanted to help out in for the day. Just a few of their many Earth Day celebration projects were: Recycle Relays, catching & inspecting insects and organisms from the pond, Arts & Crafts- making origami frogs & coloring bags, and Planting (sunflower) Seeds. Along with a few other Boston Cares members, I chose the Arts & Crafts table.
For the first half of the day, I sat at the Arts & Crafts table teaching kids, who were interested, how to make origami frogs. I had never made an origami frog before, so I was thankful that the directions were printed on the paper we were using, but by the end I was very good at making them! Some of the younger children had a bit of trouble folding the paper, but with a little assistance they had a huge smile on their face when it was completed! One child even taught me how to make a bigger one, using different folds.
After lunch, which was graciously provided by the Stone Zoo for the volunteers & was delicious, I was asked to help with the Seed Planting at the table beside the Arts & Crafts. The children lined up to plant sunflower seeds! Assisting in planting seeds was a very busy, but certainly very fun task. The two parts to the Seed Planting table were: coloring in a fun animal-printed bag with the crayons provided, then lining up to get a (biodegradable) cup to then put dirt & sunflower seeds in. Coloring with the children
was great fun- listening to their stories of what colors they were using to decorate each animal, stories of their family, and stories of their other hobbies. After coloring for a while, I moved over to the actual planting section. It was cute seeing not only the very little children excited to put dirt and seeds in a cup to later watch grow, but also a few older kids lining up! Some of the littler children needed help reaching in the dirt bin, or holding the shovel, but none of them had any trouble throwing the seeds in their cup! I quickly learned that I needed to place only a few seeds in my hand for the kids to take & place in their cup, or handfuls would be put in! It was great hearing their excitement to take the cups home to watch & grow- clearly a great way to encourage the younger generations to keep the Earth green!
The whole day at the Stone Zoo was fantastic- it was beautiful weather, people and families of all walks of life were there to celebrate Earth Day & enjoy the festivities, and everyone really did their part to help out to make it a successful day! The children all seemed to enjoy themselves & hopefully most of the sunflower seeds are growing by now!
~Molly Turner
Despite having HBO, I didn’t watch the Spike Lee documentary or the stuff on the Discovery Channel. After the first couple of days, a year and a half ago, I stopped paying attention to news about Hurricane Katrina. I’m up in Boston and New Orleans just seemed far away, and now it seems so long ago. I just assumed that things in the city were better, back on track. I found out last week that they’re not.
I was in New Orleans for four days last week as part of reconnaissance for the annual leadership conference. My first afternoon, I drove from the airport and things seemed normal. I drove past the SuperDome and it was intact. I stayed near the French Quarter where all seemed operational, save for a few restaurants yet to reopen. That night, I went to a Mardi Gras festival and the locals were exuberant, despite the theme “Habitat for Insanity” and signs like “FEMA approved” and “Home is still where the tarp is”. But then I started to talk to a few of the residents, and they felt neglected, exhausted, and still very overwhelmed. It was apparent that Katrina created a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder of some sort for the survivors. I told some people about the conference and repeatedly heard, "Thank you for having the conference in New Orleans - we need it."
That was what I saw and heard in my first six hours in town. Still not knowing what to expect, the next day I drove to find the devastation. I’d heard that the destruction affected 80% of the city but was unprepared for the vastness of what that meant. I drove for miles and miles, past a ton of empty neighborhoods, boarded up houses, signs advertising trash removal and pressure washing, abandoned businesses and inactive gas stations.
And then there was the lower ninth ward. The difference between that area and the rest of the destruction is that in the lower ninth ward, houses were literally leveled with no signs of recovery. They were crushed, crumpled and literally washed away. No one was home. It was eerie. The houses in other neighborhoods were mostly intact but as shells, and there were some that were occupied and many that were under construction, signs of life. Not so in the lower ninth. I felt sick.
Throughout the city, I saw many images of the fleur d' lis, not just as a logo of the New Orleans Saints. I understood it to be a French symbol that is part of the city’s history, but learned that, in recent usage, it's been used as a symbol of New Orleans' rebirth and rebuilding. These residents’ spirits will not be shattered. That is what this symbol tells us. I find that profoundly moving.
The staff and volunteers at Hands On New Orleans are amazing. Largely AmeriCorps members and alums, they have taken charge of a massive volunteer effort, coordinating a ton of different projects in various neighborhoods of the city. The office and volunteer management system are tightly organized, efficiently run, and by enormously dedicated people. They’re an inspiring bunch, still hopeful.
As an AmeriCorps alum, meeting the people from Hands On New Orleans challenged me to think about the service I
Since I’ve been back in Boston, I try to tell everyone I know about my trip. I’m finding that most people aren’t interested in hearing it and I’m losing them after thirty seconds, no follow up questions. To them, like to me, Katrina seems so far away and so long ago. It’s not. I heard on the radio last week, "Broadcast live to all the evacuees on B97.com." Only 50% of the city’s population is back. I want everyone to get the same kind of reality check I got. And I want us all, in a revolutionary way, to do something big about it. The conference is a great start.
-Bernadette Smith
For more information on the Hands on Network Leadership Conference, please click here.
In case you missed the Tuesday, Jan. 16 issue of the Boston Metro, Boston Cares made front page news! The article was devoted to the Martin Luther King Jr. "A Day ON Not a Day OFF" service celebration.
Dr. King famously said, "Everybody can be great because anybody can
serve. You don't have to have a college degree
to serve. You don't have
to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart
full of grace. A soul generated by love." Those famous words have been transfered into a nation-wide day of service to celebrate King's legacy. To encourage the idea that anybody can serve, Boston Cares organized a family volunteer day where people of all ages were invited to come out to Roxbury Prep Charter School to help in any way they could. Children decorated place mats for a homeless shelter, read stories about MLK, and created their own footprints to show the ways that they will "walk" in his footsteps. Older volunteers repainted the interior school and created four murals to be hung in the school's common room.
Over 170 volunteers from all walks of life came to do service, despite the less-than-pleasant weather. The school was at maximum capacity. Boston Cares staff and leaders organized over 15 separate projects and the school was painted, murals were hung, and paint spots on the floor were cleaned in 5 hours. The extraordinary man/woman/child power, and the sincere dedication of the volunteers made this project 100% successful. Be sure to mark your calendars for MLK service day 2008!
Click here to view the Metro article.
I am a movie junkie. I go to the biggest blockbusters and await the summer releases and Oscar nominations each year with bated breath. I also like more educational films and am a card-carrying member of the Coolidge Corner theatre in . I seek out the new and different. I saw March of the Penguins on opening day last year long before everyone else was so enamored with penguins. I’ve seen Israeli films, Spanish films, obscure indies and still hold a special place in my heart for Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I say all this to give you context.
You need not be a movie junkie like me to appreciate Boston Cares’ social cinema program, which is a co-sponsored effort along with Hostelling International, IVTS, and WGBH. You need only be interested in the world around you, in learning something new, and in enjoying a free film with a “smart component” afterwards! What’s not to love?
So far this year, the series has included The World According to Sesame Street which explored the making of The Children’s Television Workshop’s international versions of the famous show. The film chronicles the making of a Bangladesh, Kosovo, and South Africa’s versions. After the film, the panel included a woman who works at The CTW in NYC. For anyone who has ever loved and for those also concerned about how an American television show’s curriculum works in foreign markets, this film really answered some questions and left us inspired.
Another film, Shadya,
showed several years in the life of Shadya, and Israeli-Arab girl who happens
to be a world karate champion, which, as she gets older and reaches the age of
marriage, seems further and further from her cultural grasp. The struggles of
Israeli-Arabs in Israel,
gender issues, and family issues all come into play as we are treated to candid
visits with Shadya. The panel afterwards included two college professors versed in
Israeli Arab culture and issues and two members of that community.
Twisted, which was
made by a woman living with the disease it deals with, dystonia, opens up the
world of those suffering from this neurological disorder. Either genetic or
brought on by trauma, this largely unknown disease causes folks' muscles to
contract uncontrollably and does not allow control of the body. After the film,
the panel included someone living with this disorder.
Upcoming are a number of other films that will surely be as
interesting and compelling as those in the fall. Don’t miss these free films.
Dates and times will be determined closer to dates. Click here for the listing
and a link to ITVS with descriptions of films:
January Beyond Beats and Rhymes about Hip Hop Culture
Tuesday, January 23,
2007, 7:00PM-9:00PM – Democracy Center, Harvard Square
Thursday, February 01, 2007, 6:00PM-8:00PM – Emmanuel College Library Auditorium
February Race to Execution about death row inmates
March Black Gold about fair trade coffee industry
April Sentenced Home about Cambodian-refugee-Americans
May Knocking about Jehovah’s Witnesses
