An Inspirational Quote

"A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out."
-George Bernard Shaw



What will your legacy be?

George Clooney Gets Malaria

George Clooney, the famous actor, is now added to our list of famous people with malaria. He contracted his disease while volunteering in the Sudan.

Bednet Distribution October 2010

See your impact on the lives of those on the other side of the world!

Keep up the great work!

The Faces of NETwork Against Malaria

Take a look at some of the many impacted by NETwork Against Malaria. This collage was made in 2009.

Volunteering

As I mentioned before I'm at a children's hospital for senior service and right now I'm home sick. This is the first time I've chosen to stay home sick since I had the stomach flu freshman year. And do you know what the worst part is- I don't want to stay home. Some of my favorite kids are going home today and I don't even get to say goodbye.

Wow. I just totally twisted the purpose of volunteering. I made it about me- what I wanted. I want to say goodbye to these kids. I should be excited out of my mind they're going home(which I am) but I should also be happy that I stayed home and didn't get them sick.

It can be really easy to make volunteering about you- about how you feel. "I feel good when I help someone." "I love to feel like I'm making a difference." "I feel like volunteering has taught me a lot and opened doors."

Yes! These are good things- good feelings. And its fine and normal and healthy to have good feelings and to like good feelings and be motivated by good feelings. Let's face it- these may be some of the best good feelings out there to be motivated by.

BUT I have to keep in mind that volunteering is about putting others first, attempting to fix problems in our communities, and making an impact. THESE things are more important than feelings.

Picture from Distribution Oct. 2010

Thanks for all your support guys!

THANK YOU!!

You did it!

Thanks for all the votes. Because of you, NETwork has earned a permanant spot on GlobalGiving.org.

Senior Service

For the first three weeks of January, don't look for me-or in that case any of my classmates-in a high school classroom. Instead of heading back to school, we head out to the community. People go to grade schools, day cares, retreat groups, etc. For me, I've spent my morning playing trains and holding babies and my afternoons playing ski ball and Sorry!.

I love volunteering at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Each day I am amazed by the sincerity and optimism of the kids I'm surrounded by. Sometimes the kids are so enthusiastic and energetic, I forget they're sick. Each one has such a unique personality.

One more reason to volunteer- the people around you will astound you!