Patty's Full Circle Blog

Check out CNN’s Impact Your World site for a ideas for how you can help the people of Haiti.

Please comment below with other resources and ideas for helping the victims of the earthquake.

IMG_5878, originally uploaded by Patty360. 

Yesterday I led a group of One Brick volunteers at The Night Ministry. They sorted donations and stuffed stockings that are going to be distributed by the organization’s outreach bus to people living on the streets of Chicago.

This is a big project for TNM to organize each year and couldn’t be done without the donations of goods and volunteer power. With a fluctuating inventory of donated goods, it’s quite the challenge to pull off. TNM does their best to make sure the stockings are uniform and filled with appropriate supplies that will be of real value to the homeless population they serve. Despite their best efforts to communicate their wish list and needs with potential donors, they still receive donations that aren’t suitable for the needs of people living on the streets. The issue of uniformity is also frequently overlooked by donors. The volunteers found it frustrating yesterday to have to re-pack the stockings that were donated by other groups. Although it seemed tedious, the step of emptying the donated stockings and re-packing the supplies into special stockings with draw string closures was important. These stockings are not just a nice gesture but are valuable resources that people on the street need to help them get by. Having major discrepancies in the distributed supplies may cause problems at the distribution sites and would take away from the jovial tone the holiday stockings intend to elicit.

This serves as an important reminder for well-intentioned donors and volunteers to take the time understand the needs of the community. To have the greatest postive impact, instead of assuming what will be helpful, remember to first ask, “What is the genuine community need?” All resources and donations have a place and it may take extra work to find out where your resources are truly needed. It is necessary to take the steps to make sure your good intentions are doing good.

Next time you have something to give, make sure to ask::

1. What do you have to contribute?
2. What are the genuine community needs?
3. Where do these meet?

Trust in the community agency leaders to tell you what their needs are and help you have the greatest positive impact. Ask, “How can I help?” and then follow their instructions.

Holiday Baking, originally uploaded by Patty360.

This past weekend I spent my Saturday morning volunteering with fellow Loyola Young Alumni at Misericordia. We worked at their Hearts and Flour Bakery to help with their holiday orders. The proceeds help provide job opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities who work at the bakery during the week. Volunteering beside us were several family members of these adults who benefit from this program and the many other programs Misericordia has to offer. They expressed gratitude for the opportunities that this organization has provided their loved one. I walked away with a new skill for getting pecans to stick to cookie dough (roll the dough between your hands to release the oil before rolling in the nuts) and new connections with the other volunteers. What a Happy Saturday!

 

IMG_5801, originally uploaded by Patty360.

The Hebrew word Mitzvah translated means a good deed.

This past Saturday Full Circle Celebrations helped coordinate a Party with a Purpose for a Bar Mitzvah. The guest of honor, Ethan, declined gifts and asked guests to make donations to a cause that is dear to him. In additon to the financial donations, the kids at the party created 30 gift bags to donate to the  Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. At the party Full Circle Celebrations helped the kids decorate goodie bags and fill them with games, candy, and toys for kids in the hospital battling cancer. Notes of encouragement were included with each goodie bag from the child who made the bag and the guest of honor, a lukemia survivor himself. Ethan raised over $3,000 through the use of the user-friendly online fundraising site GiveForward.org and inspired his friends to volunteer their time for others. Now that’s putting the Mitzvah back in Bar Mitzvah!

This article appeared in the in the NY Times on 12/9/09  and gives examples of other kids serving their communities in preparation for adulthood.

It’s that time of year again. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Stress, Stuff, Consumerism, Affluenza.

We all know that’s not what this season is about, yet we still get caught up in the flurry of crazed gift giving. The state of the economy has been a great catalyst for bringing us back to simplicity. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves that we may not be able to afford the hot new item this year, try embracing the simple true spirit of the giving season.

Unlike the stress-induced holiday shopping and gift-giving pressure, true giving reaps some remarkable rewards.  A recent NY Times article highlights a few of the benefits of giving, reporting that some of the greatest benefits resulted from direct acts of service. 

Get in the spirit of the season. Give.