30 Days to a Better Man Day 20: Perform Service

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brett McKay on June 20, 2009 at 10:38am

Great idea Bruce!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by WE Dodge on June 20, 2009 at 8:04am

Brett,
All over the country, there are organizations helping the homeless called RESCUE MISSIONS. They are always looking for volunteers, especially men. Many also have a staff person dedicated to helping people become volunteers. I know because I work for one. We are often looking for men to act as mentors for the guys in our programs. Here is the national website with a searchable map www.agrm.org. If you can add this to you earlier post, that would be great.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brett McKay on June 20, 2009 at 10:39am

Thanks for the suggestion WE Dodge.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by P.M. Riches on June 20, 2009 at 9:00am

Interesting timing for this article - it's 6:45am on a Saturday morning and I'm heading out the door to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity. The association of professional designers that I belong to is holding a garage sale today to raise funds for HfH; at first I was kind of annoyed that I was roped into doing this on a weekend - I work an insane amount of hours during the week and my time with my wife and family on the weekend is limited and sacred to me. However, that one line in this article - "The public service we render is the rent we pay for our place on earth." - stuck with me. Instead of 'having to', I 'get to'.

I live in a city that is consistently voted as the number one place to live on the planet, in a beautiful condo in the downtown core, with a gorgeous wife. I also live in a city that has an underlying homeless problem, a propensity to view such things with a very cold and detached eye, and I have an opportunity to do something small that can make a difference and kind of say 'thanks' to the big guy upstairs. It kind of puts things in perspective and forces me to take my eyes off of myself.

Thanks for giving me a virtual poke in the ribs Brett - I needed it.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brett McKay on June 20, 2009 at 10:42am

PM Riches-

I totally see where you're coming from. Sometimes I'm reluctant to go do service because it will take away time from my wife. Thankfully, I have a wife who has things in perspective and reminds me that service is the rent I pay for being on earth.

Let us know how habitat for humanity went!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Andrew Barbour on June 20, 2009 at 9:24am

One thing I've been involved in for a while is Kiva.org, which is not so much a charitable institution as it is a "teach a man to fish" kind of organization, lending micro-loans to borrowers in third-world countries.

My lender profile is at http://www.kiva.org/lenders/andrew8911 . You can get an idea of the kinds of entrepreneurs seeking capital funding.

You can start with as little as USD 25 to help fund a loan.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brett McKay on June 20, 2009 at 10:43am

Andrew-

I agree. Kiva is a great organization. I've donated a couple times before.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Birk on June 20, 2009 at 9:26am

I've been in the Big Brother Program for seven years, and defintley would reccomend this as the service. Not only does it make you a better man, but you get to mentor a child into becoming a better man.
It doesnt take up as much time as you think, and is a great way to give back to the community. Definltey check out the big brother website

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brett McKay on June 20, 2009 at 10:44am

I've heard good things about the Big Brother program, from both the mentor and mentee. What do you usually do with your little brother?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Birk on July 1, 2009 at 4:33pm

He loves movies, so we've watched a lot of movies over the years. Throw in go karts, paintball, the beach, and videogames and weve done a lot of things together. Probably my favorite was playing basketball in a bounce house his grandparents had rented for his bday. As he's gotten older it has been easier to talk to have a better influence on him (or atleast its easier to observe the effects of my mentorship) And now that hes a senior in high school, I get a lot of questions about adult hood. I dont know them all but I try my best to answer them.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Craig Lloyd on June 20, 2009 at 10:11am

I went to a demonstration today against the recent racist attacks in our city. It's one way to support the community. I'm also voluntarily helping a local band record some music next week.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brett McKay on June 20, 2009 at 10:44am

Bully to you Craig! Way to fight injustice!

▶ Reply to This

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page