Please Support our March for Babies

A few of our team members

Emily and I are excited to be joining some of our mom and baby friends for the March for Babies next month. This event benefits research and programs by the March of Dimes that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. By raising funds and walking with our friends, we want to help the mommies, daddies, and babies who need our love and support. 

Our goal is to raise $727 and we have one month left to meet that goal. July 27th is Emily's birthday in case you're wondering about that number :) We hope you'll consider donating and share this with any of your friends who are looking for a great cause to support!

Here are the top 5 reasons to donate to our March for Babies:

1. All the cool kids are doing it. See below for the current list of cool kids.
2. Your donation is fully tax-deductible and for a very cute and worthy cause.
3. You'll become one of Emily's favorite people ever. She knows lots of people so this is pretty big.
4. Everyone who donates to our walk will get your name on our super cool t-shirts.
5. If we exceed our goal, I will see to it that Emily "walks" at least 7.27 feet and will send photo or video proof to all of our supporters.

A big shout out to all of our friends who have donated so far. We appreciate all of you and thank you for contributing to our walk!

Anthony D.

Laura B.

Lisa D.

Tara Y.

Tim H.

Garry K.

Katie P.

Stephanie B.

Sally L.

Meghan W.

Mike K.

If you'd like to help, donating is very easy. Just visit our March for Babies page (www.marchforbabies.org/tiffemily) and click on the pink “Donate Now” button. You'll receive an email confirmation and a receipt for your tax records. 

Thanks for reading and thanks for your support of this great cause!

Tiff & Emily

Catching Up: a Year in Volunteering

It's been over a year since I last posted and I find that impossible to believe. I'm still volunteering on a somewhat regular basis, but I'm not sure that's the direction this blog will continue in since I have a new focus.

Here are some highlights from the past year:

In March 2012, I finished up volunteering at the Emergency Winter Shelter for the season. I went in around 5am on the last day it was open to help serve a special meal that included IHOP pancakes. I love IHOP! I went back in the fall and was happy to see that some of the regulars from last winter weren't there anymore. Two of them are men I had seen at the County's Employment Center when cutting through on the way up to my office. I hope they are living a comfortable life with a home they love and a rewarding job.

I also volunteered for the 3rd year with Family Ice Skate Night with Therapeutic Recreation. I am not an ice skater, but when you put on a brave face and act like you know what you're doing, it's pretty fun! (My last blog post has more on that.)

In April, I was elected to the Board of Directors for GiveArlington, a philanthropic giving circle for young Arlingtonians. I'm just about to finish my term as Financial Director. In December 2012, we awarded a grant to Edu-Futuro, an Arlington based non-profit that empowers Latino youth (youth empowerment was our area of focus for this giving cycle). Giving money to a pretty cool nonprofit + cake at the celebration = successful experience.

It seems like May was the end of some of my long-time volunteer projects. I volunteered at the Arlington Traditional School garden when I was about 7 1/2 months pregnant. My biggest task was putting together a very unstable arch that seems to be still standing almost a year later. I did some planting too, but it wasn't all that fun to crawl around in the dirt and it was nearly impossible to get up.

That month, I also volunteered for The Reading Connection's Read Aloud program for the last time (for a while at least). It was a little crazy seeing all the kids running around like happy maniacs and knowing that my quiet time at home was quickly running out.

It was also my last Family Fun Night with the Therapeutic Recreation Department, which is good because it's hard to run around (like those energetic kids from the Read Aloud) when you're getting bigger by the day!

In June, I had to present the annual budget at my neighborhood's Annual Meeting. Being the Board Treasurer has been pretty cool because I get to see where our condo fees are going and I can ensure that they are never raised too much. That meeting was not the first time I was asked if asked if the baby would arrive right then an there. Lucky for them, that did not happen.

Unrelated to volunteering, my best friend Tara visited in late-June and the power went out for a few days. I've never been so hot in my life, but we had a good time.

Looking back at July, I cannot believe I had so much energy, nor can I believe how big I was. About a week before Emily made her early arrival into the world, I volunteered with two of my friends for the Shirlington Jazz Festival to benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center. In the past, I picked events like this because they are close to home, there's live entertainment, and you can drink for free! While my friends sampled the wine on the 100 degree evening and we gave out very generous tastes, I chugged water and secretly wished I could stand in the ice buckets we were using to keep the wine cool. I really enjoy moscato and was so happy when my friend Meredith brought me a bottle of the moscato that we had been pouring to the hospital!

Also in July, planning for the Arlington County Fair was all-consuming, though I rack up a ton of volunteer hours for that all year long. The evening before I headed to the hospital, I had a meeting about the fair, a Fair Board meeting, a televised interview about the fair (that I still haven't seen), and a really late dinner to discuss the fair.

In August, I had a new baby and she went to the fair. Yep, 10 days old on the fair grounds. I actually kept her pretty well contained and she didn't go outside, but it counts for the experience. As a volunteer and a leader of a small group of people, it's pretty amazing to watch everything come together. I'm pretty proud of all of us.

In September, I was a little more focused and helped with a special event for The Reading Connection and went back to my condo board meetings. Now Emily tends to go with me and she's generally pretty quiet. It's nice that I can take her places with me! She also started going to Fair Board meetings in September. She's such an active little citizen.

Our volunteering in October was pretty low key and it's the first time I did things in my capacity as a mom. I baked cookies for a bake sale hosted by the Moms Club and I helped set up for the Halloween party. That's about as much as I could handle at the time.

In November, I volunteered with Community Residences to do yard work. It's the first time I've used hedge clippers and I was nervous. Meredith (from the wine event and who also volunteers at the shelter with me and on the Fair Board) and I got a lot of compliments on how well the shrubs looked when we were done. We've been doing this cleanup annual since 2008 so we're pretty much pros now.

In December, I became even more of a "mom" volunteer. I took over as coordinator of the non-mobile playgroup and made sure all of the little babies and new mommies had a place to "play" each week. It was nice to meet more moms and it forced me to actually take Emily to playgroups, instead of saying "next week" over and over again.

That month, I also volunteered with Offender Aid and Restoration's Project Christmas Angel, a very fun event that I've done (with Meredith) since 2008. You get to pick out gifts for kids whose parents are incarcerated, wrap them, and attach a gift tag that the parent filled out. It's our annual tradition to compete to see who can wrap the best oddly shaped object, like a basketball or a set that has 3 balls, with tape that isn't very strong and thin wrapping paper. We don't really keep score, but we're probably tied.

So far this year has been much the same as last year -- volunteering for the fair, in my neighborhood, at the shelter, with Therapeutic Recreation, and with my mom's group -- and there aren't really any extra special stories. I bring Emily with me whenever I can and hope that when she's old enough, she'll understand the concept of helping others and that she will also want to give back to the community.

If I can find some good volunteer opportunities that are family-friendly, I will write about them. If not, I might write more about being a mom and then add in volunteering when I can. Hopefully it won't take another year for me to figure that out :)

Fake It Til You Make It: Volunteering on Ice

About two years ago, I reached out to Arlington County's Therapeutic Recreation Office to see if they had any opportunities that might work well for the Community Volunteer Network. At the time, I was started to take a more active role in the group and helping individuals with disabilities was missing from the group's activities.

The first activity the group approached us to help with was a family ice skating night. Truth be told, I cannot really ice skate. I can propel myself slowly across the ice by moving my right leg just a few inches at a time and keeping my arms straight out to the side for balance. Fortunately, my fellow volunteers came through and most of them were able to take the lead.

Last year, the opportunity came up again, but rather than fear the ice as I had done last year, I went in with a big smile determined to set a good example. Before long, I was on the ice with a tiny hand holding my left hand with all her might. She looked up at me with an expression that said both "Come on grown-up, let's go!" and "Please don't let me fall." With a nod from a fellow volunteer, I pushed off from the wall and we slowly made our way around the rink. Neither one of us fell and before long, she was doing just fine on her own. I helped a few more kids that evening and even did a few rounds on my own. It wasn't fast and I never really learned how to stop, aside from just running into the wall, but I was having fun and so were the kids.

The event is coming up again this year. Will I be there? Absolutely! And this time, I have a renewed sense of confidence to share with the kids. 

If you'd like to volunteer with Therapeutic Recreation (same group I wrote about before with #1: We Ask That You Be Patient), some of their opportunities are listed on Volunteer Arlington in the Parks & Recreation  list. Or, let me know what you'd like to do and I'll put you in touch with the right person.

# 1: We Ask That You Be Patient

With several good experiences volunteering with Arlington County's Therapeutic Recreation Office as part of the Community Volunteer Network, I decided it was time to take it to the next level and start helping out on my own with their Family Fun Night program. This is a program for families of children and teens with autism and the activities are structured so that everyone can participate together. Much like working closely with the homeless through A-SPAN, I'm a little out of my comfort zone. 

At the orientation on the first night, each volunteer was asked to give a brief introduction and say what he or she hoped to get out of the experience. I love being involved in the community and volunteering makes me feel good, I said, but my selfish reason for volunteering is that I want to work on my patience. Until a few years ago, I had tons of patience. Now, if there are 3 people ahead of me in line, I get anxious and wonder why it's taking so long. By volunteering with this group, I hoped to regain perspective and patience.

As if on cue, the volunteer manager went through his expectations for volunteers, including "we ask that you demonstrate patience." That made me think, do I have enough patience to qualify? Should I go home right now?!

Thankfully, it has worked out well and I'm really enjoying the process. For the first session in October, I set up games and tried hard to strike a balance between interacting with the kids and giving them space to explore. I wasn't sure what to say or how to act, but I tried to stay close, engage kids when I could, and just take it all in.

In November, I decided I'd go all-in with the night's special activity, an interactive lesson with Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Doe. It was a lot of fun to be learning with the kids and watching their confidence grow in only a matter of minutes. 

The December session was a little bit slower because fewer kids were there, but I spent most of my time playing in the gym. There's this enormous inflatable ball that kids love! The picture on the website doesn't do it justice, but it's called the AirLite Cube and it's 4' x 4' x 4' and when you inflate it with air, you can throw it as high as the ceiling. There was one uncomfortable moment when a little boy didn't want to share the ball with someone else. He was not happy with me and started acting up. There's a lot going on so everyone moved on to something else quickly and we were back to normal.

In January, we had a few extra volunteers which let us spend more time with each kid and it's the first time I've gotten to know some parents. When the event first started, two boys ran into the gym with their mom right behind them. She introduced me to her sons and said she'd check them in and be right back. I told her that I remembered her younger son from December and she knew right away that I was the person who had played with the inflatable cube with him the month before. As it turns out, he had attended the event with his father in December and then spent days raving about how much fun he had playing with the cube. That night, there were no temper tantrums as we played with the cube and even tried some hoola hooping. Just like I want to be more comfortable around the kids, it's a really nice feeling when kids start to know and trust me. 

Family Fun Night will continue through the school year and I'm really glad to be part of this program. While my patience can still use some improvement, I'm more comfortable with myself and others, I'm more likely to move at a relaxed pace, and I've been stressing less about small stuff. Those are all steps in the right direction!

Meeting People at the Shelter

Yesterday morning, I went back to volunteer at the Emergency Winter Shelter for an early morning shift. It was a completely different experience than volunteering after work and, even though it was tough to get up so early, I'm really thankful for the experience. I had hoped to write a blog post after each visit to the shelter, but I'm behind and yesterday's experience was really meaningful so I'm skipping ahead!

When I arrived at 5:45, people were just starting to wake up and it was pretty quiet. Right at 6 a.m., one of the overnight monitors went through the halls with a wake-up call. For someone who had been up all night, he had a lot of energy and was very positive. "Time to get up! Wake up on the right side of the bed and nothing can stop you from having a good day!" "Rise and shine, it's a beautiful day in the high 30s!" "Get up! Get up! Get up!" 

The coffee was already brewing so I starting pouring bowls of cereal and getting the milk, sugar, and cream ready. I think we went through 9 boxes of cereal and 5 half-gallons of milk in about 30 minutes. 

I really liked volunteering for the morning shift. I was the only volunteer at the shelter, which meant that I interacted with every single person who came through. Also, because the monitor who was helping me had to come and go a few times, they had to be more patient with me.

Breakfast is a slower pace than dinner. In the evenings, there's a series of questions and you need to keep the line moving. I usually volunteer on Tuesday nights and a group from St. Charles is also there. (They are very nice and said I can be an honorary part of their group, though I tend to sign in with my name and "just me :)" on the sign-in sheet.) It's fast-paced and we're usually busy from the time we arrive until the time we leave. It goes like this: "Volunteer 1: Would you like the main dish? Volunteer 2: Would you like the side dish? Volunteer 3: Would you like something to drink? We have coffee, tea, and water (and sometimes lemonade and sometimes they want hot water)". We all have a general "script" and don't want to hold up people who are hungry by making too much small talk. 

In the morning, just like in the evening, lots of people said thank you, smiled, and wished me well. However, yesterday I had the opportunity to talk to people like they were my friends and we were just hanging out. For the first time, we talked about our ages, where we're from, how depressing the local news can be, sports teams, and what we like to do. Looking back to my first few shifts at the EWS, I've always been friendly, but I haven't always felt this comfortable and I've never had a conversation that went beyond thank you/you're welcome or questions about which group we're volunteering with. Getting to know these people a little more meant a lot and I look forward to seeing them next time. In truth, I hope that some of them will have permanent homes before I'm back, but I'd rather see them in the shelter than on the streets. 

This morning, I was really excited to see one of the men I met yesterday when I came into work. I walked through the Arlington Employment Center and he was at the reception desk getting paperwork. When I said good morning, he instantly remembered me and it was nice to have that connection. Also, I'm so proud of him for coming over here to get help. Seeing him again made me realize that I still don't know anyone's name so I'll try to work on that next time.

One more thing I noticed yesterday is that the 4 bottles of ketchup I donated back in November were all gone. Thankfully I have 4 more bottles ready to take over there because some things just really need ketchup! :)

If you want to give back, but don't have the time to get over to the shelter, I encourage you to make a donation. Here are some things they seem to go through really quickly at meal time:

Sugar 

Cereal

Hot sauce

Ketchup

Tea bags

They also appreciate new twin size sheets and blankets, toiletries, and financial donations (surprise!). 

I go back to the shelter for an evening shift on Valentine's Day and I'm really looking forward to it! 

Expressing Thanks on Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, I'd like to share some things I'm especially thankful for this year. It's not a complete list and it's not necessarily in order, but it's a start!

1. My husband, Mike. He's patient, loving, and kind. He's the type of man you hope your son grows up to be. How fortunate for his parents, who are also very loving and kind in-laws.

2. My family and friends. Both near and far, and including Lucky, I have people who love me and who are loved by me. 

3. My job. I have a job that doesn't work me to death and has introduced me to a lot of wonderful people. In particular, I'm thankful for my experience with 100 Homes. It's not the sort of project you get to do at most jobs and it's something I'll never forget. 

4. My "free time." I can use my time for anything I want and there are people, organizations, or businesses who support all of it. I'm thankful for the nice ladies at fibre space who taught me how to knit. I'm thankful for the variety of craft stores nearby so that I can buy art supplies for whatever project I'm interested in for a particular month (most recently, jewelry making). And I'm thankful for people who leave me alone at stores so I can just wander around getting ideas for Christmas presents *all year* long. All of these things are a tiny bit superficial, but I haven't always had free time that I could use any way I wanted, so I try to embrace it.

5. Arlington County. I really like it here. I'm a leader, a volunteer, a resident, and an employee. My commute is great. I love my neighborhood and the trails and parks across the County that are well-maintained and welcoming. I love the non-profits in Arlington that are so appreciative, organized, and conscientious. I even like how it shuts down when it snows!

Finally, I'm appreciative of everyone who reads my blog, especially when you leave a comment or send an email after I've posted something that was meaningful to you. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ketchup and Other Things We Take For Granted

After my experience with 100 Homes, I decided to get more involved in the effort to end homelessness in Arlington County. My first stop was A-SPAN where I signed up to help at the County's Emergency Winter Shelter one morning and one evening shift per month. I plan to share my experiences here, both to encourage everyone to give back in some way, and to have something to reflect on as my perspective changes over the next few months.

My first shift was opening night -- Tuesday, November 1st -- from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. I showed up a little early to sign in and get a "Volunteer" nametag. As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted by Kathy Sibert, Sarah Morse, and dozens of boxes of bagels left over from the Marine Corps Marathon. It looked like the entire A-SPAN staff was working that evening and the energy level was really high.

My task for the evening was to set up in the kitchen and help serve food with a fellow 100 Homes volunteer. When we were setting up, Sarah showed us all of the supplies needed for the evening. There were plates, silverware, sugar packets, cups, and coffee packets galore. But where were the condiments? What about ketchup, mustard, and the ever-popular hot sauce? This was my first lesson -- the shelter has what it is given, not what we come to expect in our own homes. I promptly resolved to purchase some ketchup or hot sauce to bring with me on my next visit to EWS.  

The food, prepared and delivered by the DC Central Kitchen, was well-received. On the menu was a macaroni casserole with meatballs, steamed veggies, and cupcakes donated by Bayou Bakery. At the volunteer orientation a few weeks earlier, we had been told to serve a generous portion to everyone who came through, but that we should wait a while before giving out seconds. My second lesson was that it's hard to say no when a homeless person comes back for more before it's time. The lines moved quickly and EWS wasn’t anywhere near capacity, so we just kept giving out more food. As the weather grows increasingly cold and more people show up, this solution may not work. How do you say no to someone who has so little?

As people were going through the line, I was surprised that a few said "thank you for volunteering." This caught me off guard and I am still having trouble figuring out why.  Perhaps it is because volunteers are most often thanked by the organization or the volunteer manager, but not always on-the-spot by those directly impacted by the volunteering. Or perhaps it is because I believe that EWS clients have an expectation of food and shelter, and not an appreciation of those things, when it's possible to have some of both.

My final lesson came the following day when I was heading towards I-66 for a meeting. As I sat at the stoplight on Glebe Road waiting to turn left, a homeless man about 20 feet ahead in the median caught my eye. "Don't look at him. He wants money," was my first thought. Then, "I recognize him. He was there last night." Then, "Still don't look at him because you don't want to give him money, even though you want to help him." And, after all of that and all of my work and volunteer time striving to help the homeless, give them a voice, and make sure they do not feel invisible, I felt like I was back where I started. The lesson in all of this: do what you can, when you can, but don't forget how far you've come.

Next up is an early morning shift a few days before Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to it!