Monthly Archives: September 2011

‘I have never been more proud’

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We would like to extend our deepest and most sincere gratitude to all our volunteers who made the 9/11 Week of Service possible. Your time commitments, dedication and efforts have been a great service to our communities  — from volunteering at the park build or one our of other service projects to donating money for the park and/or helping us spread the word and recruit volunteers, among many other tasks. The Hands On Charlotte Board Chair, Sara Collins, has written a some reflections as well, which are below.


I have never been more proud

I have never been more proud to be a part of Hands On Charlotte than I was on this Sunday’s sunny afternoon, standing on the fringes of the crowd gathered to commemorate the losses of Sept. 11, 2001, and to celebrate the birth of a beautiful neighborhood park.

I have never been more proud of our fantastic staff than I was when Frank Brown, head of the HandsOn Network’s 9/11 service events (who chose to come “home” to Charlotte when he could have gone to New York or Washington or any other place across the country with a HandsOn affiliate), talked to me about how responsive, responsible, innovative and pleasurable the Hands On Charlotte staff is.

I have never been more proud of the 500 volunteers who cheerfully labored for three days to clear brush, build fences, create a community garden, construct benches and walkways and erect two gigantic play sets than I was when I heard them being lauded, over and over and over again, by the elected, corporate and neighborhood officials who spoke about the value of pulling together to help your neighbor – something we in this country do better than in any other.

I have never been more proud to be an American than when I looked up at the biggest stars and stripes I have ever seen in real life waving in the breeze high above the park, suspended from the ladder of a fire truck from Charlotte’s Engine 18 and beautifully framed by a spectacular blue sky and cotton-ball white clouds. In fact, I had to quit glancing up at it after a while, because it truly brought tears to my eyes every time I did.

I have never been more proud of our future than when I watched dozens upon dozens of children swinging, sliding, climbing, laughing, jumping, shrieking, running – swarming over their new playground like the busiest of bees.  One speaker alluded to the fact that most of them weren’t even born when the attacks on this country happened 10 years ago, that they would learn about it from their history books instead of living it like the rest of us had.  But we’ve said, “Never forget,” for 10 years now, and with our help, they’ll be the ones who never forget, and they’ll be the ones who take the energy and joy from that playground that volunteers built out into the streets of Charlotte and North Carolina and America and this world to make sure that not only do we never forget, but that September 11 never happens again.

I have never been more proud to be a part of Hands On Charlotte than I was on this Sunday’s sunny afternoon, standing on the fringes of the crowd, because this day, this park, is what being a volunteer is all about.

Volunteer Experience: You still have the chance to sign up for projects!

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There are still three days of projects left for the 9/11 Week of Service and the opportunity to sign up today, Saturday and Sunday on our Website.

As promised, we decided to give you a little glimpse of what some volunteers experienced while working this week. So, Kira Hale who volunteered with the Red Cross and Sean Leto (now one of our AmeriCorps volunteers) who volunteered with Jacob’s Ladder give you their takes. You still have the chance to sign up for other Jacob’s Ladder shifts, Race Against Hunger shifts, and others here today and through Sunday!

 

American Red Cross

Volunteers stand in front of the American Red Cross sign in Concord, N.C. during volunteering here for the 9/11 Week of Service.

How important do you think volunteering is to those big non-profit companies like American Red Cross? You may be as surprised as we were this week to find out that in areas like Cabarrus County, they depend on about 34 volunteers for every ONE staff member! According to our project coordinator today, Danielle Goubeaux, this is the case in their area and many others.

The 9/11 Week of Service gave me the opportunity to work with Red Cross for my first time. The project I volunteered for included a clean-up and beautification outside the Red Cross building in Concord, N.C. We helped with the landscaping by trimming hedges, pulling weeds, and cutting back overgrown trees. The staff members in this office were very grateful because they were starting to lose much of their sidewalk and front walkways to all of the overgrowth. They told us they are always in need for more volunteers to help their limited staff with facility and car maintenance, jobs such as painting or other big events like blood drives. So, if you have the time, lend a hand to these dedicated and wonderful people!

This is just part of the Tribute to 9/11: Week of Service, so check Hands on Charlotte’s calendar for upcoming projects! I’ll see you out there!

Kira Hale

Jacob’s Ladder

We forget that life doesn’t come with instructions. There are no signs pointing the right direction if you get lost. There are no manuals (some assembly required) if you wake up one morning and realize you aren’t completely satisfied with your life. Life would be much simpler if you had a book that told you to go left, when you thought about going right. A guide to say “Use Caution, Rocky Surface Ahead” or a step by step process to help you when you hit the “Dead End,” but there isn’t. Sometimes you just feel like turning off the car and walking. That’s why the world needs more groups like “Jacob’s Ladder”.

Jacob’s Ladder helps people make positive changes in their lives. The organization helps folks, by guiding them and helping them back on their career paths. Jacob’s Ladder helps support whatever needs their clients may have, from interviewing skills, to full dress suits for their appointments.  The organization also does work with the clients’ employers to get their clients hired — clients who often face major barriers to employment. Jacob’s Ladder is there, helping people find their way, after they have gotten lost and taken a left, when no one was there, to help them go right.

We spent the morning pulling weeds, sweeping, weed whipping, and doing general clean up. I have always said you can’t save the world in one hour, but don’t tell Weston that. You would think he had solved the world hunger problem the way he was smiling. If a person can find happiness in pulling weeds, I imagine they can find happiness in anything.

We take so many things in our life for granted. We forget that when we are lying awake, cursing the things we don’t have and dreaming of what we want.  We forget that without our parents or our peers to keep us on course, you could end up very far from where you should be. We forget that with no road maps and no step by step directions, life can send you in some very dangerous directions. An, while I have always had people to redirect me and get me back on the right path, not everyone does. The only way I can see saying “thank you” to the people that were there for me is to try and be there for someone else. Even if that someone just needs a little gardening in a church.

Sean Leto
sean@handsoncharlotte.org

So, get involved and sign up today on our Website!

 

Why these volunteer opportunities are important to so many

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“There will be government memorials, church prayer services, community picnics and even a commemorative dance concert at UNC Charlotte this week, as the region remembers the 10th anniversary of 9-11.

However, the biggest of event is one devoted to the day after the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Hands On Charlotte is recruiting up to 1,800 volunteers for five days of community service projects, in hopes of recapturing the solidarity many Americans felt on 9-12.

So far, 1,200 people have signed up to help with 100 projects, ranging from park beautification to renovating a homeless shelter for veterans, officials said.”

Read the full story from the Charlotte Observer here.

Make it more than just another day

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When the humidity recedes and the sky turns bright blue, the memories start to return.  It was a beautiful morning here in Charlotte. I was excited to take my almost two-year-old son to his first real day of pre-school. As I drove to drop him off, I heard on the radio that a small plane had flown into the World Trade Center.

When I got back home, I turned on the television and learned it was so much worse than just that.

We all have a story like that. It’s not hard to remember the anguish, the fear and the slow realization that our country would never be the same. But remembering doesn’t seem like enough… at least to me and to many others.

That’s why Sept. 11 has been named a National Day of Service and Remembrance.  In Charlotte and around the country, more than 1 million citizens will give of themselves and serve as a living memorial to those lost. Find out more about the 9/11 Day of Service.

Need motivation to give your time?  How about the memory of firefighters and police who ran towards the burning buildings to rescue people they did not know. And remember the passengers on Flight 93, who gave their lives to save others that they did not know. What will you do?

Hands On Charlotte has more than 100 volunteer projects to choose from for the 9/11 Week of Service for individuals, groups and families. You can find out more on our Website. But I also encourage you to create your own personal ways of honoring the memory of this day, those who were lost and the heroes that emerged. Let’s make sure that 9/11 never becomes just another day.

Lisa Quisenberry, HOC Executive Director
lisa@handsoncharlotte.org

Giving for giving

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Peter Samaroo started volunteering for Hands On Charlotte about a year ago.

He said the organization’s wide variation of projects is what led him to stick around.

“Hands On Charlotte gives a lot of opportunities for people to volunteer and give back to the community,” Samaroo said.

So, when it came time for employees of Wells Fargo to apply for its Volunteer Service Awards, Samaroo didn’t hesitate to submit an application for Hands On Charlotte. “We reward team members’ service with grants to nonprofits in which they’re involved. Twenty-nine years ago Wells Fargo created the Volunteer Service Awards to encourage team members to volunteer and reward their efforts with cash contributions from Wells Fargo to the nonprofit or school where they volunteer,” the Wells Fargo Website reads.

And Samaroo won $1,000 for Hands On Charlotte.

Lisa Quisenberry, Hands On Charlotte executive director, was impressed by Samaroo’s initiative.

“It takes funding to run a non-profit organization like ours, and it’s always heart warming to know our volunteers understand this and want to work with us to continue making it possible for us to service others in our communities,” Quisenberry said.

Saja Hindi
saja@handsoncharlotte.org