The Weight of the World

After giving my speech, I took my place in the audience at a youth rally. The next keynote speaker rose and began his speech by saying that ours was the first generation in the history of mankind that had the ability to end global poverty. For a moment I had such a high, such a great feeling of purpose, dedication, and hope that I could hardly keep from running laps around the rally. What he said next sobered me up pretty quickly. "What a grave responsibility." He looked at the group with heavy eyes and no smile. He continued on to talk about our ipods and laptops and excessive spending. He went on to say that we were squandering our opportunity to save the world. I felt my shoulders slump back into their resolute, determined position. The way he said it made it sound daunting. Alleviating poverty would not be a success if achieved. It would be a failure if we did not achieve it. I found myself feeling slightly discouraged. After the speech I took a few moments just to think for myself. I sat there for a long time and finally something occurred to me. If we had the ability to eradicate poverty, it was because we had already achieved other things. We had learned effective farming methods, ways of getting water to rural regions, and improved health. We had the resources to educate children and the knowledge to cure diseases. The reason my generation, our generation, has so much potential is because for centuries humankind has been building on one anothers accomplishments. Because of what past generations have accomplished, our generation is in the position were we literally (arguably) can eradicate poverty. That's empowering. But, no matter the outcome of our work, we all have a responsibility to honor our impoverished neighbors. BUT the fact that we would honor this responsibility is, in fact, a gift. SO no matter what is accomplished or not accomplished, the generation can build on the accomplishments of our own. Hopefully we can eradicate poverty, but nothing could possibly diminish such an accomplishment. We all have a responsibility to one another, but everything we do is a gift.

For Them

It is more than a project. Service benefits real people.

For them take action.

What Can You Do?

• Donate
• Buy jewelry and t-shirts
• Start your own NETwork Against Malaria Chapter
• Have a jewelry drive
• Help NETwork Against Malaria make jewelry
• Shovel snow, water flowers, or rake leaves for donations
• Invite NETwork to talk at your school
• Use our Grade school curriculum to teach your class
• Sell lemonade on your street corner
• Host a beading event
• Organize a bake sale
• Plan a benefit concert
• Collect Office Supplies- Paper, staplers, software, cds, DVDs, cameras, etc.
• Mail us your old cell phones to recycle
• Host a Battle of the Bands
• Set up a tournament
• Customize T-shirts for events in your community
• Have an art show and sell your beautiful work
• Collect Change at your school, church, or sports games
• Organize a competitive penny drive or donation collection
• Sell t-shirts and jewelry
• Design promotional materials
• Write for the newsletter
• Collect pledges for a 5k, marathon, or sports event (i.e. a nickle per basket/ three dollars per mile)
• Give presentations to class mates, churches, youth groups, etc.

Think of your own ideas. Fresh ideas are always welcome. Volunteering is more fun if you personalize it and do what you love.

Have fun with NETwork. Volunteering and saving lives should be things you enjoy!
We Can't Wait to Hear from you: NETworkAgainstMalaria@gmail.com




**Please e-mail NETworkAgainstMalaria@gmail.com for a copy of the curriculum.

Small Town Big Team, Small People Big Dream

As a personal St. Louis Rams' fan, the last few post seasons have been pretty slow for me- its been a rough couple of years. This year though, things have been a lot better. Post season play I embraced my Wisconsin roots and pulled on the cheese head.

I think the real reason I really like Green Bay is the size of the city. There's about 100,000 people who call Green Bay home. It's not quite small town, rural but it also isn't concrete country. The idea that a fan-owned team that calls home a city of 100,000 can claim the biggest title in the nation is pretty cool.

The same principle applies to volunteerism. A small group of people can make a major difference. With commitment and passion you can overcome anything. There's no stopping you- Get Out There!

There may not be a convertible on the otherside but you may find something even better!

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.

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!

Thanksgiving

Thanks giving is a time to be thankful- for all the wonderful things we have in our lives. It is also a time to reflect on all the things that we can do to improve the lives of others.

As young volunteers, we realize that November is often a time for hunger awarness. Do some research on your community to learn about local hunger issues your community faces.

In my own community, more people are visiting food pantries which has caused them to run low and even run out. I volunteer at a food pantry and have been told stock is high around the holidays, but runs low throughout the rest of the year.

A great cause for you is a random hunger drive for your own community. Call your local food pantry to find out when food runs lowest and when your Non-Holiday Food Drive would be most needed.

Key Chain Days

So volunteering is sort of like making NETwork jewelry. Sometimes its a safety pin bracelet day and you feel like spending hours volunteering to alleviate the suffering of others. Other times it's a key chain day and a couple of minutes is just right. Either way, giving your time is great.

Weather you're in a safety pin mood or a key chain mood, there is always something you can do to help, always some way to get involved.

Up Coming Opportunities

Looking to get involved?

NETwork has some amazing upcoming opportunities for you to jump on.

1. Come to our 5K this Saturday! Register online at networkagainstmalaria.org. Bring your competitve nature and running shoes or bring your positive attitude and walk the distance. Either way, come out to support NETwork, our volunteer who organized the event, and the children of Uganda.
2. Join us for beading on Sunday. E-mail us if you're interested in this opportunity.
3. Start a chapter! Is there not a chapter in your area or are you looking to start something new? Send NETwork an e-mail and get your start-up kit in the mail!
4. Buy our jewelry. With Christmas just around the corner, you or someone special should be treated with our amazing jewelry.
5. Start NETwork-ing! Volunteer any where any time to get involved. Maybe blogging is even your thing. Send NETwork an e-mail for a more extensive list of up-coming events in your area or to learn how to set some up!
   

The Glory of Picking Up Poop

As a volunteer at my local animal shelter, I’ve become all too familiar with the smell of bleach, the grit of hand sanitizer, and the sound of two sides of a pooper scooper clanking together. You’re probably wondering why I’d start there. I suppose I wanted to get the unpleasant part out of the way first. Now let’s get into what’s important.

The glory of picking up poop comes when you see the opportunity for second chances. Don’t get me wrong, I love the warm feeling of wiggly puppies in my hand, their small wet tongues tickling my face, and their enthusiastic curious head cocks that display the most adorable faces. That part’s definitely the most immediately gratifying, but it’s not the most rewarding.

It’s when you’ve watched the same old dog lie on a cement floor for days. It’s when that dog looks up at you with a look of desperation, abandonment, and a loss of hope. It’s when you see someone look into those eyes and make a connection. It’s whenever there’s the opportunity for a second chance.

There’s something amazing about that. There’s something wonderful about seeing the sparkle return to a loyal dog’s eyes.

That Time

It’s come. That dreaded time I’ve been warned about since freshman year- the time you have to fill in the blanks, check the boxes, and list volunteer hours/ extracurricular activities. That time has come and believe me some amazingly negative attitudes have followed. Some people race around school signing their names to lists and attending the bare minimum of meetings just so they can add it to their resume.

And I’m here to tell you something before this time comes to you.

Don’t make those people’s dumb mistakes. Work hard every year and do your best, because I promise that will be good enough.

If you want to enjoy high school, don’t do something to write it down. Do it because you love it. Don’t volunteer to tally hours; volunteer to make the hours meaningful.

Hmph…

Is there ever a day when you really don’t feel like doing anything? Maybe you just took a giant test and you feel like your brain is oozing right out of your ears. Maybe you just had a really tough practice and for some reason TV sounds more soothing than sleep. How about that feeling when you’re sprawled on the coach and you just stare at a bag of chips because you’re so hungry, but moving the extra inch is just a completely inconsiderable feat?

Sadly, yes. I’ve been there and I hope if you’re reading this you’ve been too. I’m not wishing any discomfort on you, believe me but how dumb would I sound if you read this and were like, “Um, no. You are the only person that’s ever desired to underachieve in the history of the world?”

But that feeling never lasts. You snap to at six pm on a Thursday wondering where in the heck three hours of your life went and how you’ll spend the next six.

Sometimes that feeling is a good thing in my opinion. It means you’ve applied yourself so much that you’re completely drained. Who finishes a race with enough breath to chit chat about the medal he or she just won? Look at accomplished athletes and at the end of a race they’re completely spent.

But others… I’ll be honest. Other times, I’m just lazy. But I’ve found laziness has never helped me accomplish anything. I’m not saying relaxation is bad. In fact, I believe relaxation is sometimes necessary, but laziness is one of those things we all sometimes crave, but should try to avoid.

Welcome to the best place to be non-lazy and in my opinion, the best possible goal. Let’s make this world an awesome place.

Pictures of You

There’s something hard about volunteering for a group of people on the other side of the ocean- you don’t get to hold their hands and you don’t get to look into their eyes. You don’t learn their names or hear them laugh. But you still you made a difference in their lives and they in yours.

For me, this all turns around when I receive a package in the mail a few weeks after each distribution. I hold the pictures in my hand of the children whose lives we impacted.

They have distended stomachs and dirty clothing. Often there are stains and tares on their prized school uniforms. Many of them look into the camera with wide frightened eyes. In their rural village they have never seen a camera before. Some look back into the camera with pride. They walk themselves to school. They striving towards education, so why shouldn’t they be proud? Others look into the lens with gratitude; they realize the importance and gravity of the nets. They look into the camera, but, as is customary in their culture, they show pressed lips, no smile. Then there are those who cannot contain themselves. They forget their fear of the foreign machine. They forget their customs. They cannot help it. They seem to realize how much hard work has culminated in this moment. They seem to know these nets will protect them from a terrible disease. They seem to realize how these nets are concrete proof of how love exists between people who have never met, how love transcends distance. They beam at the camera.

Holding each picture in my hands shows me that there are no boundaries and although it sometimes takes a leap of faith, helping those children is worthwhile.

Not only worthwhile, but extremely rewarding.

Everyone has Something to Give

To be poignant a book doesn’t need to be hundreds of pages long. To make an impact, leave an impression, inspire someone a book doesn’t need small print, footnotes, or long words. All a story needs is to have a message, a theme that readers walk away with touched. If you haven’t visited the children’s section of your library or pulled your childhood books of your shelves in a while, I advice you do so. netWORKinProgress’s first book review is about one of these short books that I’ve loved since before I could read.

Everyone out there should read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It’s the story of a tree who befriends a boy and loves the boy so deeply, he is willing to give entirely of himself. The story challenges the limits of love and proves that true friendship knows no bounds. Every friend, every person, every volunteer could take a lesson from the giving tree.

Distribution Day

August 2^nd, 2010. I woke up like any other morning. Showered. Brushed my teeth. Fixed my hair. Checked the mirror and headed off. To anyone else, August 2^nd 2010 would seem pretty darn ordinary but to me and my fellow NETwork supporters, it was the culmination of months of hard work. On August 2^nd 2010, 1,000 nets were distributed deep in the Ugandan bush.

1,000 nets. 1,000 nets that would protect 3,000 lives.

I sat amongst people at a conference who had never heard of NETwork Against Malaria or the village receiving nets. I sat beside them and listened to their conversations. I sat hoping someone would ask what was new so I could scream out what was going on thousands of miles away. And I sat wondering what else was going on in these strangers lives on August 2^nd 2010.

I sat wondering if any of them were having a completely normal day. I wondered if someone had something exciting they were dying to share. I wondered if August 3^rd would be as significant to someone as August 2^nd had been to me.

I suppose, there is no such thing as an ordinary day. It is the start, the end, the tragedy, the celebration, the hope, the despair, the promise for someone, somewhere. I suppose there is nothing so under- marveled than a sunrise and a sunset.