Tomorrow: Day Of Service

by hilzoy

Barack Obama has asked people to spend tomorrow doing something to serve their communities, and he has set up a website designed to make it easy to find ways to do this. It's actually quite wonderful. Anyone can create an event, so in addition to some things one might expect -- opportunities to volunteer at soup kitchens, visit hospital patients, read to school kids, and so forth -- there are some wondrous things. When I checked my area, I found people who do not seem to be affiliated with any organization, but who seem to have just decided that now would be a good time to pick up some trash; an "Adopt A Storm Drain" event, which I would never have thought of, but which sounds quite useful; a few events that are a bit underdescribed; as well as "Prayer for God devine intervention". 

Similarly, the email I got about his visit to Baltimore said:

"To attend, we ask only one thing: please deliver a can of food to a drop off location at Camden Yards. We will deliver the cans to a Baltimore food bank. It's a simple act that will do a lot of good for someone in the community."

I'm really happy to see Obama use his list to make it easier for people to get involved in community service, and even happier that its events are not just submitted by a list of pre-approved charitable organizations (though such organizations are there), but can be, and have been, created by ordinary people. This is one of the things I found most innovative about his campaign: the way in which it seemed to be quite specifically crafted to make it easier for people to form relationships that transcended the Obama campaign, and to genuinely empower his volunteers. 

I'm also happy that there does not seem to be anything partisan about it, except for the fact that it's Barack Obama who's asking. Some things ought to be affiliated with a political party, but serving others should not be among them.

If any of you are planning on joining in, feel free to say how in the comments.

Comments

[Cheryl_vT]

I live in Singapore, and my kids and I are writing letters and making care packages for wounded soldiers at Brook and Walter Reed Medical Centers. Then we'll be up in the middle of the night (because of the time difference) to celebrate the inauguration. Hooray! What a great day!

[OCSteve]

Who actually gets today off as a holiday? Government employees, those who work in education, and…?

[Sapient]

I'm calling Meals on Wheels to see what I can do (if not today, maybe later). My job is probably flexible to allow me to do one shift a week. Although I used to work at a food pantry, there came to be more people working there than were really needed. I did see a lot of people (especially elderly) coming in who could barely make it.

[Gary Farber]

"Government employees, those who work in education, and…?"

The unemployed!

[Catsy]

I still have to work today, and I'm on call. Not much I can do right now, unfortunately.

I make it a point to play MLK's speech in our house every year on this day, and I have to think that we're doing something right--on Friday my son came home from school, his teacher having spent some time going over the coming holiday, and upon telling me all the things he learned about what black people had to go through, declared in the most offended tone an eight-year-old can muster, "that wasn't fair, that they had to go to the back of the bus and give up their seats!"

I was proud. His grasp of civil rights may not be sophisticated, but he gets it better than most Republican politicians.

[efgoldman]

@OCSteve
Who actually gets today off as a holiday? Government employees, those who work in education, and…?

The markets are closed; the banks are closed. All of us in financial services are enjoying a 3-day weekend...

Except those of us in New England, where we had to shovel 8-12 inches of "winter weather event" this morning. Not a storm, oh no, wouldn't want to call it that...

[glasgowtremontaine]

The Harrisonburg Change Exchange served free chili and hot chocolate for four hours on the steps of Court Square, and collected for local food & clothes banks:

505 cans of soup
107 cans stew/chili/spaghetti-oes/etc.
49 cans of vegetables
40 packages of Ramen
36 cans beans
31 microwavable single serving soup packs
29 cans tuna/salmon/chicken
19 cans & 4 jars spaghetti sauce
16 boxes of pasta
11 cans fruit
10 packages dehydrated mashed potatoes
5 jars peanut butter
3 jars jam
2 jars and 1 cup applesauce
2 bags dried beans
2 boxes jello
1 box of granola bars
1 can condensed milk
1 can sardines
1 box rice
1 pack sugar cookie mix

964 pairs of sox
18 hats
17 pairs of gloves
8 shirts
4 scarves
2 pairs of pants
1 blanket
1 pair of slippers
1 mens jacket

You can see our cargo-cult-like array:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15007747@N08/3210258283/

Thanks for the chance to brag ... and yeah, lots of folks don't get MLK day off, so we got it done on Sunday instead.

[jwo]

glasgowtremontaine, What a grand idea. You may see it stolen. Three women and myself decided years ago to have a drive for people to donate their coats to be given to those less fortunate, especially the homeless in our area. We set up collection points and each had several for which they were responsible. We had it advertised over the radio and were amazed at the response. I forget the number of coats that we collected, but it was significant. We took them to several outlets already set up for distribution and even left a batch at the local food kitchen. All of this we accomplished with little manpower and effort. The next year, someone else was doing it and I saw it for several years thereafter. May be time to do it again, for I don't remember seeing anyone collecting coats in awhile.

[wonkie]

I sent fifty bucks to the Everett dog shelter. They just took in over one hunjdred and fifty abused traumatized dogs from a puppy mill. The officers who busted the mill said it was the owrst they had ever seen. Paul and I sent them a letter indicating our willingness to foster one or two dogs, if that will help.