DoinGood In My Hood

Swag Bags & Perks & Goodies, Oh My!

doinGood in my hood — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 01:47:47 +0000

Volunteering is already pretty awesome on the surface. There are obviously warm fuzzy benefits to your community and those directly affected by your doingood. Did you know there’s research that suggests volunteering benefits your health as well? And sometimes you luck out and get other perks aside from mental and physical wellness. I have an entire drawer of t-shirts I’ve received from my doingood efforts. When I’ve volunteered with Georgia Public Broadcasting, that’s meant a yummy catered meal and getting my mug on tv once. Last year, I was afforded a career perk when I got to practice my project management skills via organizing a volunteer day for the women’s group at my job. People have offered me free tickets to everything from comedy shows to festivals. Once I volunteered at a 5k and came home with so many bananas for my freezer, I had a smoothie almost everyday for months!

Today, I was with a team from work at the 8th Annual Atlanta House Party, which is a corporate volunteer effort organized by a great Atlanta organization called HouseProud. Our team planted flowers and painted the exterior of a senior citizen’s home, taking it from drab to Orange-and-Fab over the course of this Saturday morning. We were all so glad to be there to help out and HouseProud/Atlanta ToolBank definitely took good care of us as volunteers. They fed us breakfast, snacks and a great lunch…and we got a swag bag full of handy things!

I was just saying that I needed flashlights for the house - now I have two!

What’s the best perk/goodie you’ve ever received as a thank you for volunteering?

What to Expect When You’re DoinGood: 5k Edition

doinGood in my hood — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:32:00 +0000

Warm weather is upon us Atlanta and, whether you’re a hardcore runner or a part-time jogger like myself, it’s that time of the year again: Run/Race Season! We’re lucky in that Atlanta is a fun race market and we’ve got plenty of options to choose from if we want to get out there and pound the pavement for a cause on any given weekend. Signing up for an run/race/walk can be double the DoinGood: running and/or walking are excellent exercise and a lot of events in our area also serve as fundraisers for some excellent causes. But what if you want to support the organization but are not feeling 3.2 miles, don’t feel like fundraising is your forte or are an injured runner who still wants to be on the scene? Lucky you, most of these events always need an extra pair of hands or legs or eyes. Go volunteer!

I’ve volunteered at a few different 5ks and had different experiences at each. At the very first, I learned a very valuable lesson: check the list of volunteer positions needed and make sure it’s a match for what you like. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a miserable mismatch like I did. I’m not exactly a butterfly but I like to be social when I volunteer. At this particular race, however, I ended up flying solo as a course monitor/traffic halter in an empty foreign-to-me neighborhood at the end of the 5k course. In a word: lonely. I’m fortunate to be able to contrast that with experience I had at the 5k I volunteered at last year for Skin Cancer Awareness Network Foundation. I spent what turned out to be a very fun morning assisting the Volunteer Coordinator with whatever needed to be done, whether it was making sure we had enough fliers, pointing racers in the direction of the port-a-potties, or helping prep the awards table for after the race. Since I kinda like being a ~~busy body~~ generalist anyway, I enjoyed having a variety of things to do and hop around and talk to/help people. I’ve also worked registration at a race, which was a good way to experience the different runners’ personalities, and been on clean-up crew, which netted me enough bananas for a month’s worth of smoothies during a time when I was flat broke. The great thing is that there’s something for every type of volunteer when you go to help out at a race/run/walk.

Here are few events that I know are looking for volunteers. Get out and help – usually comes with a free t-shirt, sometimes some pretty good swag and, best of all, the satisfaction of knowing you were DoinGood.

SCAN Foundation’s 5th Annual Save Our Skin Walk/Run is on June 25th at Perimeter Place. I found it to be a very good experience, with the volunteer roles needed for the race being very clearly laid out. Interested in helping out? Fill out this form or email amyhokkanen@hotmail.com for more info.
Unless you spend your summer living under a rock, you should be familiar with the Peachtree Road Race, an Atlanta 4th of July weekend tradition. Did you know it takes nearly 3,400 volunteers to pull off this event?! They need all the help they can get. There are a few volunteer needs in the weekends leading up to the race as well as during race weekend: http://www.peachtreeroadrace.org/pages/volunteer-job-descriptions
Looking for more races to volunteer with? Check out active.com for listings of local races and contact the organizers. Or get in contact with Atlanta Track Club, which is always looking for help for the many races around town they put on throughout the year.

DoinGood In Review: “Ask and Ye Shall Receive”

doinGood in my hood — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:00:35 +0000

In all of my DoinGood, I think I’ve asked people for very little beyond their support of what I was doing. Or maybe for a little of their time to volunteer. Mostly because I don’t like the disappointment of hearing “No!” So when my friend Nina asked if I would join her team for this year’s March of Dimes March for Babies in Downtown Atlanta, I was excited about participating but a little nervous at the prospect of having to raise money. Nina wasn’t putting much pressure at all on our team of seven; the original goal was for the group to bring in about $250 for the cause. But of course it was getting very hyped up in my head. It meant having to ask people to part with their hard-earned cash – was I going to be comfortable with that? Or, more importantly, would anyone actually give me anything?

So I decided to try something that, although I was sure it would make me extremely uncomfortable, I also knew would probably be my most effective fundraising method: I wrote down a few personalized thoughts about what a great cause I felt the March of Dimes really was, put it out there to my social networks, and asked people to give starting at just $10. And wouldn’t you know it; within just a few hours of posting the link on Facebook and Twitter, I had my first donor: a friend from college! My original goal was to raise $100 but ultimately my friends and family gave a little over $200 to support the March of Dimes’ research and support programs. What an amazing and touching show of support!

Why am I sharing this story with you? Mainly because I hope the lessons I’ve learned from my first foray into fundraising can be helpful to others who are nervous about asking others to financially (or otherwise) support their DoinGood:

(1) Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. Obviously a lesson that applies to more in life than fundraising but if I hadn’t put it out there, nobody would even know what I was trying to accomplish…or that I needed their help to get it done.

(2) Connect with your network! My sponsors for Saturday’s walk ranged from people I’ve known my whole life (i.e. my dad) to a guy that used to be one of my supervisors on the job a few years ago. I didn’t do anything crazy to get people’s attention – just posted on Facebook and Twitter a few times and wrote a few emails.

(3) Tell people why the cause is important to you personally. My family has got babies on the brain these days because my cousin just had a baby girl a few weeks ago…and during my fundraising campaign we found out I’m going to be an auntie for the first time later this year! Of course an organization whose mission is to bring healthy full-term babies into the world was going to capture our attention after that news.

By the way, the walk was 5.5 miles of awesome. According to 11Alive’s coverage, there were 15,000 walkers at the four Metro Atlanta walks this weekend! At the event downtown, the atmosphere was fun (we kicked off the walk with a drumline!), the course wasn’t difficult, and afterwards there was free lunch and a concert for everyone who participated. Thanks to March of Dimes for such a great experience!

Support DoinGood as we March for Babies with March of Dimes

doinGood in my hood — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:28:33 +0000

Think about the last time you got the news that someone close to you was having a baby. Did you know that, according to the stats, 1 in 8 babies in the U.S. are born prematurely, putting them at risk for a wide range of medical complications? It happens to families everyday with no real warning or for no pinpointed reason. And heartbreaking to me, the rate has been on the rise for African American women for the last decade.

This is where the March of Dimes comes in. They are on a mission to improve the lives on babies by preventing birth defects.

Please join me in standing up for this amazing cause that provides resources for moms-to-be, helps fund research, and supports families when something goes wrong. I will be walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies walk in Downtown Atlanta on April 30th and would love your support. Making a donation of any amount is secure and easy; just click the icon above or the ‘Donate Now’ button on my fundraising page. Or even better, sign up to join my team for the walk! And don’t forget to check to see if your employer matches charitable contributions to increase the impact of your gift.

Thank you for helping us give all babies a healthy start!

DoinGood in the Cold: Cleaning Out Your Closet For A Good Cause

doinGood in my hood — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:48:36 +0000

: Image by CaptPiper via Flickr

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times lately: I thought I moved from up North to get away from cold weather! But down here in Atlanta, we’ve definitely been getting our share between how cold the temps have been, January’s Snowmageddon Icetacular, and a possible inch of snow about to roll in tonight. And can somebody please explain “wintry mix” to me? This strange phrase has boggled my mind for months now!

When the temps dip and visions of scarves and coats start dancing through my daydreams, my thoughts turn to those who might not have these on hand. Luckily, we have a lot of organizations here in Atlanta that help those who aren’t able to buy their own winter gear. Here are a few places around the area who are still collecting winter gear for those in need:

Midtown Assistance Center (404 681-0470, MAC@midtownassistancectr.org) accepts donations of coats, gloves, hats, scarves for their clients.
The good folks at Meehan’s Downtown are collecting coats for SafeHouse Outreach. In return for your coat donation, they’re giving $10 vouchers for your next meal there. Yum! They’ve had such success with their drive so far, they’ve extended it through March 1st!
Intending to give but don’t have time to drop off? Let the folks at the Atlanta area branch of American Kidney Services pick up your coats, scarves, and gloves right from your front door!

Thanks for helping us all stay a little bit warmer, Atlanta!

DoinGood…with a passion

doinGood in my hood — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 04:40:45 +0000

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! , DoGooders! I hope that, with the city thawing out from Southern Snowpocalypse 2011 and ample volunteer opportunities all around Atlanta, that you took advantage of a chance to make a difference today. Unfortunately I was among those who were stuck in the office (the company I work for doesn’t observe). But I did take pause for a while today, on this 25th anniversary of the MLK Day holiday, to let this thought flow over me:

I, as a black woman, have the right to learn, eat, drink, go to the restroom, and live wherever my heart desires without discrimination – by law. And this is reality due to the passion of people like Dr. King. People who focused their energies on a cause in which they so passionately believed. Dr. King didn’t have a ton of money or magic powers. He wasn’t the most outstanding student in school or the most physically intimidating guy in stature. He was a man who genuinely believed in equality enough to rally those around him into action!

So on this day, where millions of people honored Dr. King’s legacy by doing good, I challenge you: What challenges facing us today rev your engine? Be it equality, educating future generations, or protecting the environment, know that by standing up and getting involved, you can make a difference. It doesn’t take a lot of time to make a small difference. And all of our small differences could add up to make a big change. Get out there and DoGood for a cause you really care about. Still trying to figure out what causes you care about? Try out a few of the different volunteer experiences I post about on Twitter. You may be surprised what kind of experiences spark your passion.

DoinGood for Sick Kids: Why Change Makes a Difference on RMHC Day of Change

doinGood in my hood — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:19:01 +0000

Having a sick kid is already a stressful situation. So imagine when it gets kicked up to the next level, when people are tossing around the word “critical” or when the injuries are “severe”. The questions can be overwhelming for parents and caregivers. Fortunately for families with children being treated in local Atlanta hospitals in such circumstances, Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities is here to give temporary housing and support. And you can support ARMHC’s mission today by dropping your change in the designated box at your local McDonald’s on Ronald McDonald Day of Change.

We’ve been fortunate enough to have a Ronald McDonald House here in the ATL since 1979. And last year alone, the house nearest to Northside Hospital served 300+ families in need of support and shelter. At both locations (the second is over by Emory), families are able to get out of the hospital environment and into a place that will give them a good meal and the emotional support they need to cope with the situation. I don’t have any kids but have had a loved one hospitalized in critical condition before – it was hard to tear myself away but having somewhere else to go while they were being tested or sleeping was crucial in not having a total breakdown every 5 seconds. I can’t even imagine how much more intense that would have been if it had been my child. ARMHC also does good in other ways for Atlanta via scholarships for high school seniors.

Aside from stopping by Mickey D’s today to give your spare change to the cause, there are other ways you can get involved. The Atlanta Ronald McDonald Houses are always looking for volunteer groups to make the evening meals, bring by baked treats, or stop by with breakfast items for the families. Big fun for corporate groups or the group of home chefs who think they’d be up to the challenge. They even have something called a Casserole Club, which sounds perfect for busting out that good ol’ comfort food recipe passed down from your mom or grandma. Groups can also sponsor a night’s stay for a family (ARMHC asks for $20/night for families to stay at one of the houses). Individuals can DoGood for these families as well, by volunteering for a shift at the house where you can greet incoming families, help them get registered, or answer phones. You can also donate the tabs from your aluminum soda cans to the house, which recycles them and uses the money to fund Ronald McDonald House activities here in Atlanta. There are so many great (and easy) ways to volunteer to help this amazing cause – kick in your change today at McDonald’s, then contact one of the houses to find out how you can DoGood for these families.

Atlanta Ronald McDonald Houses:

5420 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta – near Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

795 Gatewood Rd, Atlanta – near Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Eggleston

Find out more about the houses, their programs, and volunteer opps at Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities website or on Twitter: @armhc

DoinGood: Back to School

doinGood in my hood — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:15:50 +0000

Remember this Staples commercial from back in the day?

I can’t believe next week, I’ll need to start factoring in bus traffic into my commute time, with school back in session for a lot of the Atlanta metro starting the week after [In my best old person voice] Back in my day, we didn’t go back to school until after Labor Day! But I was one of those kids who always looked forward to the end of summer, especially the chance to start fresh with new classes, potential new friends, new activities, but especially new school supplies. Even now as an adult, I still find there’s something special about the power of possibility I feel when I open a brand new notebook. You can DoGood for kids in need here in Atlanta by empowering them to achieve with the tools they’ll need for school. By the way, sharing this donation experience with your kids is a great way to introduce them to the concept of DoinGood for others as well.

Here’s a sampling of some Atlanta school supply drives that are going on right now. If you know of others, feel free to comment to help get the word out!

Org: Latin American Association
Drop off: the LAA office, 2750 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA 30324
Needs: notebooks, paper and index cards, book bags, crayons, hand sanitizer, rulers and Elmer’s Glue
Deadline: 8/1

Org: United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta (School Tools for Cool Kids)
Drop Off: Publix locations around metro Atlanta
Needs: You can purchase a bag full of school supplies (the ones I saw were less than $10) at the store or drop off donations of notebook paper, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, folders, spiral notebooks, rulers, etc.
Deadline: Sunday (August 2nd)

Org: Clayton County Chick-Fil-A and Truett’s Grill locations
Drop off: • Truett’s Grill of Morrow, 2042 Mt. Zion Road, in Morrow.
• The Forest Park Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, 4959 Jonesboro Road, in Forest Park.
• The Jonesboro Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, 7348 Tara Blvd., in Jonesboro.
• The Riverdale Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, 6549 Ga. Hwy. 85, in Riverdale.
• The Stockbridge Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, 3649 Ga. Hwy. 138, in Stockbridge.
• The Chick-fil-A at Lovejoy Station, 11161 Tara Blvd., in Lovejoy.
• The Chick-fil-A at Southlake Mall, 1133 Southlake Mall, in Morrow.
Needs: wide-ruled paper, 8.5-by-11-inch spiral-bound notebooks, No. 2 pencils, and 16-count crayon packs, reams of copy paper for teachers
Deadline: August 6th

Org: Children’s Restoration Network
Drop Off: Kroger locations around metro Atlanta
Needs: NEW BOOK BAGS, wide and college ruled notebook paper, spiral notebooks, 3 ring binders, pens, calculators, markers, scissors, rulers, crayons, file folders, glue, dictionaries. Also need volunteers for sorting the supplies on August 6th and 7th from 10-4:30. Contact CRN for more info on how you can help: 770 649-7117
Deadline: August 7th

Org: Club Blue (Young Professionals group that holds events to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro ATL)
Drop Off: This link has location details
Needs: Packages of #2 Pencils, Crayons, Pens, Highlighters, Backpacks, Pocket folders/Trapperkeepers, Pencil boxes, Markers, Rulers, Children’s Scissors, Glue Sticks, Small Tissue Packs, Packs of Copy Paper, Three Hole Punched Paper, Small Dictionary, Lunchboxes/Lunch Bags, Calculator, Jump Drives, Backpacks
Deadline: August 17th

Atlanta to join the cool kids, new “Chief of Service” on the way

doinGood in my hood — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:43:07 +0000

Big news for the service community of Atlanta this week: the czar is coming!

Monday, AJC.com reported about Mayor Reed’s announcement of a new post in his administration: a “Chief of Service” to oversee the city’s philanthropic engagement and to encourage our fellow Atlantans to get involved in our community. Apparently, last month Atlanta was among 10 cities awarded a $200,000 Cities of Service Leadership Grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Who knew??

Side note to local media: this is the kind of news many of us would love to get peppered into your newscasts every now and then. Squeeze it in between stories about fires, murders, the Gulf Oil disaster, Lindsay Lohan, and gubernatorial mudslinging, won’t ya?

This is FANTASTIC news for Atlanta because we could definitely use the boost to get people off the couch (so to speak) and into the community. Our volunteer engagement numbers in Atlanta (and for the state of Georgia overall) are, as my dad would say, “fair-to-middlin”. Atlanta currently ranks 24th among 51 major cities in the country in terms of the percentage of residents who volunteer, according to VolunteeringInAmerica.gov‘s latest data. As someone who both enjoys putting together volunteer projects and DoinGood in order to meet new people, I can’t help but to be disappointed that service to the community isn’t more of a bigger ‘thing to do’ here. After all, aside from the obvious warm fuzzies and the help it gives to those people and programs in need, service can also be good for your health. Considering we also rank mid-pack on those America’s Healthiest Cities lists that seem to come out about zillion times a year from various sources, we could use the additional boost in that arena as well. But it’s been great to see the rise of events like the do.justice event, the popularity of HandsOn Atlanta’s Teamworks program, and to see the way people came together to help out Haiti after the earthquake and Nashville after their flooding…there’s hope for us yet, ATL!

This new CSO will definitely have a bit of a challenge on his or her hands. Long commutes, misconceptions/fear about community service, and economic factors such as unemployment and foreclosure are just some of the challenges people cite as reasons why they’re not more involved. For what it’s worth, I think we’re a pretty generous city but could always improve. My biggest hope in this announcement is that it will breathe a little extra fresh air and perspective into the concept of service here in Atlanta. We’re the home of some major charitable powerhouses and headquarters for some major players in the corporate world….but there are also so many smaller organizations (businesses and non-profits) that are capable of DoinGood just as well. Hopefully the City of Atlanta will be more strategic in helping these entities help each other and in encouraging the rest of us to help out in our respective ‘hoods as a show of pride. Atlanta really is a great place to live. Hopefully this new Chief Service Officer will help make it an even better place to give back.

Do you think Mayor Reed’s new hire will have an impact to the community of service in Atlanta? What are some of the changes you think need to happen to foster more of a spirit of giving in Atlanta?

The Summer of DoinGood

doinGood in my hood — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:32:10 +0000

Monday we officially crossed into Summer! There’s something about the changing of the season that always makes me feel ready for change in my life too. I get inspired to refocus, recharge, rethink, heck – even redecorate! Although I’ve gotten some DoinGood in over the last few months, I always feel like I could be doing more. And I’ve been fortunate to have support along the way. My dad asks about this blog all the time and my mom sits patiently through all of my dramatic retellings/reenactments of my volunteering adventures. Even my coworkers have been supportive – I recently won an award at work for being a badass at my job the hard work I’ve put in lately, but I was also recognized for being involved in the community. So thanks yall; the love is much appreciated.

Now that I’ve got some traction of moving forward, I’m feeling really charged to set some summer goals that I want to share with you!

Goal #1: Spend more time writing in this blog!! I haven’t told you about AHHH, SCAN, CHRIS Kids Premiere Party, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Atlanta Toolbank’s HouseParty, having my idea for our corporate women’s service project in September selected by the board as the one we’re pursuing…needless to say, I’m a little behind. The book I’m reading right now is about how one author got back into the swing of writing and I think it’s got some of the best advice ever – all you need is 15 minutes. Who doesn’t have 15 minutes to spare? I need to make 15 minutes – anybody got a recipe?

Goal #2: Vary the volunteering. I’ve volunteered with horses. I’ve volunteered in the dirt. But it’s been a while since I’ve done anything that directly involved kids. Or the disabled. Or the homeless. I really need to make sure I’m spreading my wings. We’ve got some really great non-profits and charities around Atlanta; I’ve got a lot of ground to cover! I definitely want to do some more hands-on projects this summer. Helping out at events can be fun, but there’s nothing that makes this more real for me than when I meet the people directly affected by the work of the organizations I’m helping out for the day. Suggestions welcomed!

Goal #3: (which I’m already in the midst of working on) Learn more about marketing for non-profits. Why not, right? I enjoy working in marketing for my day job, I’m 112% behind organizations for making life better – best case scenario is to grow my smarts by merging my worlds together. My dad is on the board for a non-profit mentoring program back home and has asked me to kick around a few ideas with him some time in the next few weeks. I’ve been nose-deep in every article I can find about social media, cause marketing, donor relations, and volunteer acknowledgement/appreciation because I really do want to help. Hopefully more to come on that…

What are your DoinGood goals for Summer 2010, Atlanta?