Friday Roundup: the Halloween Edition

It’s the Friday before Halloween weekend. Fall finally feels like it’s creeping in, and to me, that is wonderful. Hands On Charlotte Day was a great success, and now we are focusing on all the other projects that sustain us throughout the year.


Rob and I put out our first partner newsletter this week. Are you a local non-profit organization interested in learning what Hands On Charlotte can do for you? Let us know and we’ll set up a meeting! Of course, for everyone else, Bob sends out a bi-monthly newsletter, which will catch you up on the ins-and-outs of Hands On Charlotte.


A few weeks ago, I mentioned Kerry McCray, a super-volunteer who leads our Panthers Recycling Program. Well, guess whom the county featured this week on its Web site? Thank you to Kerry and all our volunteers who help with this fantastic program! Do you want to help out with this project or something similar this weekend? Here are just a few of your options:

• Saturday – New Green Acres Project: Come work on the farm! Shining Hopes Farms provides therapeutic services to individuals with disabilities. They need volunteers to do general farm labor, which, if you haven’t had the opportunity, is a lot of fun. Just wear some older clothes! Children ages 10+ may attend if accompanied by an adult.
• Saturday – Animal Care and Control: Come play with the animals, clean their living spaces! Volunteers must be at least 18 years old.
• Sunday – Bingo at White Oak Manor: Sunday night bingo with senior citizens! Some residents need assistance hearing and placing the pieces on the board and some residents are looking for more competition! It’s easy and fun for volunteers and residents! Children ages 6+ may attend if accompanied by an adult.
  

Well, by the time I next post, it will be November 2010. Time is flying! I hope you have a great weekend and a very spooky (and safe) Halloween.




Tanner

A thank you from Lisa Quisenberry

Dear friends of Hands On Charlotte,


Hands On Charlotte Day is now behind us, and I want to send a very big thank you to everyone who participated and donated. With your help, we had an incredibly successful event. From everyone at Hands On Charlotte, thank you for joining us on this year's Hands On Charlotte Day.


We want to share with you some of the results. We sent teams to 19 sites - 10 of which were public schools. At this year's Hands On Charlotte Day, our volunteers:

• donated 1,540 hours of their time,
• cleared 30,315 square feet of land,
• spread 8,580 pounds of mulch,
• spread 6,766 pounds of topsoil,
• planted 369 flowers,
• collected 137 bags of trash,
• spread 117 bales of pine straw, and
• sorted 61 pallets of donations.

Come visit us on Facebook, where you can check out all the pictures from our projects!


The winner of the $1,000 gift card from US Airways is Ben Milam. Ben volunteered with a team from Manheim at Walter G. Byers Elementary School. Don't forget you can still win US Airways gift cards worth $250 each if you update your volunteer information on our Web site by November 10.


We also want to thank the sponsors who supported Hands On Charlotte Day. Charlotte Business Journal was the event's primary sponsor. We are also grateful for the support of The Home Depot, Newell Rubbermaid, UNC Charlotte and Elevation Church, as well as Anne L. Bradley (CPA, PA), Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting, Kola Construction and Rorick Construction.


We'll be sure to keep you updated, but in the meantime, let us know what's new with you! If you have ideas for service projects, we're always looking for ways to grow. You can keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter, but never hesitate to send me an email directly.


Again, thank you to everyone who supported Hands On Charlotte Day. If you weren't able to participate, but wanted to make a charitable donation, just visit our donation page. Until we reconnect, I hope you have an amazing holiday season.




Together in service,


Lisa Quisenberry
Co-founder and executive director
Hands On Charlotte

A New Journey for a New Beginning

As a 22-year-old recent graduate living 16 hours from my family in Vermont, I have found myself experiencing what some call a “post-college life crisis.” Immediately following graduation in May I gave into the dreaded nine hour-per-day desk job, and found myself completely unhappy. The fact that I moved to South Charlotte, a half an hour away from my university friends did not help. I decided to quit my job and search for a job and other things that would make me truly happy. Being unemployed has given me a great amount of time to figure out what I can do to fulfill my emptiness and bring me back to life other than moving back to Vermont (aka the North Pole!) to be with my family.


I did a lot of thinking over my first week of unemployment. I decided working to better lives of children would make me happier, as I was blessed with a great childhood. I decided working with animals would bring me joy, as I am vegan and always looking for ways to get involved. Making new friends in Charlotte would make me feel more at home. Spending time with the elderly would open my eyes to new things. One day as I was lying in bed it clicked; if I can’t find a job quickly doing any of these things, I need to volunteer. I immediately posted a status on my Facebook page asking where people volunteered their time. One response was “Register with Hands on Charlotte!” With no idea of what this organization was, I decided to check it out. WOW! One place I can go to work with kids, animals, the elderly, and meet new people. I was so excited that I actually got upset when the e-mail stated it could take up to 10 days to get my background check cleared. I wanted to start that afternoon!


I am glad to say it only took one day for my account to become active. I am so excited to start volunteering and giving back to Charlotte. I am hoping it broadens my circle of friends, and brings me a sense of fulfillment that I have been missing. I am starting with attending Game Night at the Laurels Tuesday evening. Going into this alone is a little nerve racking for me, because I am not one to go anywhere or try anything by myself. I am however, one to always try new things whether it is sky diving, bungee jumping, traveling to Australia for five months, or stepping out of my comfort zone and volunteering with people I’ve never met. I am confident that the HOC organization as well as everyone involved will be very welcoming and helpful. I am so excited to start this journey and can’t wait for the changes it will bring to my life!




Kailee Mahoney is a guest contributor to the Hands On Charlotte Blog.

Green thumbs at Shamrock Gardens Elementary School

Is it out of the question for me to enroll back in elementary school? I caught a crazy case of envy after visiting and viewing the grounds at Shamrock Gardens Elementary School. The Garden Project for Hands on Charlotte Day was a huge success. About 50 volunteers including parents, students, and other community members all chipped in to help keep the gardens on the right track. Shamrock Gardens is literally surrounded by organic gardens, which means no pesticides! There’s a wheat bed to make bread, compost pile, butterfly garden, and even a resident opossum that the volunteers had to be sure to not disturb.


Thanks to the volunteers, the students at the elementary school will now be able to watch an apple tree grow that was planted using the school’s own compost. Weeds were pulled, a whole bed of overgrown sunflowers were attended to, and the schools own collected rain water was used to water the beds. The volunteer project was certainly a group effort considering the number of gardens at the school. This was no small feat. Most everyone was still hard at work well after the project’s official time was over. One of the volunteers even brought some cookies for all of her fellow helpers. I had to try one and they were amazing. This group did a fantastic job and the students at Shamrock Gardens will be able to continue developing their green thumbs.


Katie Sherman is a guest contributor to the Hands On Charlotte Blog.

Schools: Look good, feel good

Hands on Charlotte Day was a huge day for our community and its schools! I saw firsthand how everyone from big corporate executives to elementary school students can collectively show the importance of the look of our schools by volunteering to help clean them up. It was mainly the latter group that surprised me the most though. Here were these cute, little, elementary school kids showing their love for their Briarwood Elementary School with each bag of weeds collected, handful of mulch spread, and tree branch pruned. Who knows if it was by prodding from their parents to get these kids out there or not, but these 15 children sure were throwing themselves into these tasks.

Admittedly, I don’t know if I would’ve been so “gung ho” sweeping my elementary school’s sidewalk at that age. I could easily imagine myself whining about missing my Saturday morning cartoons and my Fruit Loops. Maybe I’m admitting my childhood selfishness, but I couldn’t help but feel pride for these parents and their children doing such an admirable job on a beautiful Saturday morning. The students understood the thought that if they see nice and pretty surroundings every morning walking into school, then that’ll give them an extra positive boost to feel good about their schoolwork. It also gives them a sense of ownership. I hope that this one Saturday morning planted the seed for a lifetime of volunteering from these children.




Katie Sherman is a guest contributor to the Hands On Charlotte Blog.

Reflecting on HOC Day - Tanner

We’re all starting to regroup after “Hands On Charlotte Day,” and I thought I’d share my experiences from the event with our blog readers. I had a great HOC Day, visiting three impressive sites: the McGill Rose Garden, the Assistance League Thrift Shop and the Charlotte Nature Museum. Here’s a rundown of what I found at each:

• McGill Rose Garden: Located a block north of 277 on N. Davidson Street, this garden was a beautiful surprise. Twenty-two Hands On Charlotte volunteers joined project leader Angie Simpson in trimming rose bushes and clearing brush. Jim from Clark Nexsen was out sporting his N.C. State sweatshirt, and Kerry McCray, who leads our Panthers Recycling Program, was laughing and making everyone feel great. I’m excited to go back to the garden just to…yep…smell the roses.
  
  
• The Assistance League Thrift Shop: This project and organization really blew me away. The first thing you should know: the Assistance League Thrift Shop in Charlotte (AL Charlotte) employs one full-time person. The rest of the operation relies on volunteers, many of which donate 40 hours per week. When you consider the quality of work they do, that’s really astounding. Last year, AL Charlotte distributed 433,000 snacks, clothed 1,640 children and awarded $19,000 in college scholarships. On top of that, AL Charlotte assisted 393 youth offenders in finding volunteer hours, helping those young people get back on track. If you want to get involved, Amy Cratsley, Hands On Charlotte’s project leader at this site, will help you get started.
  
  
• The Charlotte Nature Museum: It’s easy to miss the Charlotte Nature Museum, located in the heart of a neighborhood on the edge of Freedom Park. But once you find it, the Nature Museum promises acres of trails and small gardens. Hands On Charlotte volunteers, led by Cathy Durbin, cleared brush, planted gardens and set gravel on paths. As Stephen Collie, a Hands On Charlotte volunteer, said, “This is a great project if you like to be outside. I like doing yard work, so it’s a great way to volunteer.”

I wish I had more time to spend at each site. I had to leave before I could have all my questions answered. But that’s part of the fun of volunteering. It offers new experiences. Even though “Hands On Charlotte Day” is over, we still have plenty of opportunities for you to volunteer. Visit the calendar and browse our upcoming events.

Tanner

It's Hands On Charlotte Day....Eve!

“Hands On Charlotte Day” has a very special meaning for me. It’s where I met my now husband in 1994. It took us another year to start dating, but that’s another story.

“Hands On Charlotte Day,” in addition to being a setting for romance, is just a great day. It’s exciting to be part of a legion of volunteers working simultaneously to improve our community. The synergy of this day is unlike any other. From the border of South Carolina to Huntersville and in between, volunteers will be sorting, landscaping, painting, building and recycling. The power of citizen involvement will be in full force.

In years past, volunteers have convened before or after their projects for a celebration event. With the fiscal challenges Hands On Charlotte - just like most nonprofits - is facing, we decided to forgo the party this year and concentrate on the volunteering. All the funds raised are going to support the projects and our year round volunteer efforts.

But fear not, you will still be able to celebrate. We are going to blanket the social media landscape and create a virtual celebration. In real time, you can follow the progress on Twitter, Facebook and our blog. Both during “Hands On Charlotte Day” projects and after, you can follow the progress, see pictures, thank our sponsors and find out how much work was completed. So when you get home after volunteering, pop open a beverage of your choice, grab a snack and your computer and celebrate with us!

Any time you Tweet or post on Facebook, attach the hashtag #handsoncharlotteday . Then we’ll all be able to chat and congratulate each other on work well done. Tell us what you accomplished and who you met. Tell us where you volunteered and what sponsors were at your event.

Speaking of sponsors, we could not do this without them. Charlotte Business Journal is our Presenting Sponsor this year. We are so proud of our partnership with the city’s premier business publication. They appreciate and help HOC promote good business also means doing good in the community. The Home Depot and Newell Rubbermaid are two companies that live that ethic and we are thrilled to have them as Transformational Sponsors as well as our good friends at Elevation Church and UNC Charlotte. We thank all our sponsors, the teams and individual donors for making this day happen. But most of all, thanks to those of you who will be out volunteering on Saturday!


Together in service,

Lisa Quisenberry
Co-founder and executive director
Hands On Charlotte

One last project, one last push

To our supporters,


We are counting down the hours until "Hands On Charlotte Day." Thank you to everyone who has signed up and donated to this year's event. There are only about 24 hours left to sign up. How about we tackle one last project? Here's the story:

We need you at Shamrock Elementary School this Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon. Shamrock is a low-resource, high-poverty school, where almost 90 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch.

Shamrock approached us early in the planning of "Hands On Charlotte Day" and asked us to help plant a garden. We were thrilled at the challenge. The school wants the garden - which you will fill with all sorts of edible goodies - specifically to teach students about healthy living, nutrition and agriculture.

Will you help us fill the 21 remaining spots on this project? If you can't come out Saturday, then we hope you will consider making a small charitable donation. "Hands On Charlotte Day" is our primary annual fundraiser, and we depend on it to sustain our programming. Thank you for your support.


Together in service,

Rob Hammock
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Hands On Charlotte

Why I Volunteer: Shari Lerline Williams

What is a volunteer? What does volunteering mean to you? To me, volunteering means sharing, painting, playing sports, laughing, building, hugging, mentoring, gardening and caring. I know, it sounds mushy, sentimental and certainly cliché, but it’s true. When you give up your personally time, and donate it to someone who needs you, how can you not feel accomplished? Since I started at Hands On Charlotte, I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer through various efforts. Beatification projects, cleaning, tutoring, and the list goes on. At times, the challenge can be daunting, but if you let go of your inhibitions I guarantee you will love it! Volunteering always provides those special situations when you surprise yourself, and learn something new. Over the years I’ve picked up a multitude of tricks, skills and tools through volunteering. This Saturday at Hands On Charlotte Day, I will learn how to build benches! Whoever thought I was equipped for such a project?!

The best feature volunteering has to offer is that there’s something for everyone! Personally, I love to mentor and tutor. One of my favorite projects is Homework Hounds. Every Tuesday I get to help Matthew, who is in kindergarten. It’s my favorite part of the day. First we complete his homework, and then we read a book together and laugh and giggle all the way to the end. Although I’m helping my mentee, he is helping me as well. He is helping me not to take my life so serious!

I challenge everyone who is reading this to take an hour out of your week or month and do something fun and rewarding… Volunteer! I promise you will thank yourself!

Want to write a "Why I Volunteer" post for our blog? Email Tanner at tanner@handsoncharlotte.org for more information.

The impact of volunteering in Charlotte

After telling a friend about Hands On Charlotte Day recently, I was intrigued with one of first questions. “So what is the impact of a day like that,” he asked. What is the impact of cleaning up school grounds, building a new set of benches or helping to organize donations? What are my three hours worth?

Oh, how I wish there were a simple, two-sentence answer. I wish there were a matrix I could show him: one hour equals 7.32 people served; two hours equals 16.14 clients served; three hours… If only the non-profit world had such answers. If only we had such great matrices. Alas, we do not.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have answers to these questions. In fact, we do have answers. For example:

• School grounds can impact academic performance. Zach Miners, in a recent article for District Administration, outlined the substantial effects that school gardens and clean school grounds can have student performance. These spaces can become outdoor classrooms, perfect for science lessons and inquiry-based learning. “Every kid dives right in,” the article quoted Sandra Antalis, an elementary curriculum manager in Houston. “When you’re outside in one of these areas, it’s hard not to start investigating.” At Hands On Charlotte Day, we will be planting school gardens and cleaning up school grounds. Want to give a kid a place to learn about science? Join us for Hands On Charlotte Day.


• Volunteering can have direct and substantial impact on the volunteer’s self-worth and self-confidence. We all hear that volunteering makes people feel good. But over the last few years, psychologists and researchers have shown this to be true in very concrete terms. For example, a recent study in the journal Social Behaviour charted the ways that volunteering increases notions of self-worth and confidence in people. The more people volunteer, the better they feel about themselves and the more they decide to engage their communities in other ways. Have you thought about volunteering but haven’t ever had the opportunity? Hands On Charlotte Day is a perfect way to get started! Come join us this Saturday.

My friend’s question is a good one. Why should he volunteer? While we can point to studies about the impact of volunteering, the best answers, I think, come from our own personal stories. Over the next week, we are going to put a few of our own personal stories about volunteering, and what it has meant to us. If you’re looking to start gaining these experiences for yourselves, please join us for Hands On Charlotte Day.

Hands On Charlotte Day is this Saturday. Sign up goes through Friday, October 15. Please visit the Web site for more details.

George Bernard Shaw loved volunteering

"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can." - George Bernard Shaw


Like so many other people in Charlotte these days, I am not a native. I am one more Midwesterner who has made his way south and learned of the loveliness of the weather and the beauty of the area. No, the weather’s not always perfect, but I’ll gladly take it over the brutal winters I grew up with along Lake Michigan in Chicago. What I do miss is the sense of community and connection thrust upon me by living in such a dense, urban setting. The connections were not always positive, and not everyone in the community got along, but there was no denying the interweaving way in which neighbors, neighborhoods, businesses, schools, places of worship, and nonprofits worked together – or didn’t.


The point is not proximity, nor an apology for the urban life. It’s about seeing the way we are connected with others. It’s about seeing when this works well and when it doesn’t. In an internet-dominated age, it is harder to notice and easier to ignore the personal and physical relationships around us. We are not islands to ourselves, but part of a greater whole, whether we acknowledge it or not. Volunteering is one way we begin to see the connections and can take action. Volunteering is the acknowledgment that I am part of a bigger picture. The health of Charlotte depends upon our seeing this picture, acknowledging the connections, and figuring out how we can each strengthen them.


So, if you’re looking for an opportunity to see the connections and be a part of a bigger picture, come join us at Hands On Charlotte Day on October 16. Come explore the connections and see where you fit. It is not about just one day; it is about a new vision. Maybe Hands On Charlotte Day is your eye opener.

-Rob Hammock

A note from Lisa Quisenberry

Dear friends of Hands On Charlotte,


I want to thank you personally for everything you've done in support of Hands On Charlotte this year. Without committed people like you, we simply wouldn't be able to serve Charlotte's most vulnerable communities and populations. We know that in these challenging economic times, it's difficult to find time for other people. Thank you for finding that time, and thank you for your support of Hands On Charlotte.


I'm writing to invite you to participate in this year's Hands On Charlotte Day, which is Saturday, October 16. In its 18th year, Hands On Charlotte Day is taking aim at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and local non-profit organizations. We have beautification and construction projects planned at public schools, parks, museums and community centers. We hope you will join us in supporting our community on this inspirational and meaningful day. Please sign up on the HOC web site.


Although you will be serving the community on Hands On Charlotte Day, this event is also a fundraiser for us. Your individual or family contribution supports the year-round work of of HOC, giving people like you--people searching for convenient and effective volunteer opportunities--the chance to take advantage of hundreds of projects each month. So if you cannot make it to Hands On Charlotte Day, but you would like to make a donation to Hands On Charlotte, please visit our donation page.


If you've already signed up, thank you! Volunteering is often even more enjoyable with friends. Perhaps you could mobilize your inner circle and start a volunteer team?


The communities we serve depend on people like you. Hands On Charlotte Day depends on people like you. Please join us October 16 from 9 a.m. until noon for Hands On Charlotte Day.




Together in service,


Lisa Quisenberry
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Hands On Charlotte

Volunteers across Charlotte prepare for day of service

With only 12 days left until “Hands On Charlotte Day,” volunteers across the city are signing up to serve local schools and non-profit organizations on October 16. Approximately 1,000 Charlotteans will come out for Hands On Charlotte’s 18th-annual day of service.


Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are set to be among the day’s top beneficiaries. Hands On Charlotte has organized 10 beautification projects at public schools around city. In addition, volunteer teams will serve area non-profits at a number of other sites. The Charlotte Nature Museum, for example, will host volunteers to work on trails and gardens. Like many other HOC Day projects, the Charlotte Nature Museum is a family-friendly event, welcoming families with children over the age of 6.


“Our volunteers are essential to the success of ‘Hands On Charlotte Day,’” said Bob Young, Hands On Charlotte’s associate director. “We really can’t thank them enough for their efforts. Anyone who wants to support ‘Hands On Charlotte Day’ should visit our Web site.”


A number of Charlotte-area organizations have answered the call to help make “Hands On Charlotte Day” a success. Charlotte Business Journal is the day’s primary sponsor. Elevation Church, The Home Depot Foundation, Newell Rubbermaid and UNC Charlotte, as well as Anne L. Bradley (CPA, PA), Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting, Kola Construction and Rorick Construction have all signed on to support “Hands On Charlotte Day.”


“Without our corporate partners, Hands On Charlotte would not be able to organize this event,” Young said. “These organizations’ involvement in ‘Hands On Charlotte Day’ demonstrates their collective commitment to building and maintaining Charlotte’s reputation as one the nation’s top places to live.”


Hands On Charlotte is still looking for individual volunteers, volunteer teams and partners to help with this year’s Hands On Charlotte Day. To register, please visit our Web site for details.

Friday Roundup 10.1.10

I sense this week was the (relative) calm before the storm. We’ve all spent the week trying to steady our ongoing projects before turning to “Hands On Charlotte Day,” which, if you haven’t heard, is October 16. Have you signed up yet?


In the media, the Charlotte Business Journal mentioned one of our super-volunteers last Friday. Mary Forgach serves as our liaison with Transamerica Reinsurance and with the Forgach family. Over the years, Transamerica Reinsurance has volunteered with Hands On Charlotte at W.G. Byers Elementary School. Mary has routinely served as team captain. In addition, she has organized family teams for other projects, volunteering last at our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day event this year at the Tyvola Senior Center. We wouldn’t be able to operate without volunteers like Mary, who mobilize not only themselves, but also their co-workers, family and friends. Thank you to Mary and everyone else who have helped Charlotte’s non-profit community through Hands On Charlotte.


With that said, here are opportunities this weekend to volunteer in Charlotte!

• Saturday & Sunday – U.S. Kayak Polo Nationals: Volunteer outside on a beautiful day by timing and recording trials at McDowell Park. Drinks provided to volunteers. You don’t need to have gone through orientation to volunteer at this project. Sign up on the Web site. Click for Saturday. Click for Sunday.


• Saturday – Challenger Football: Play therapeutic football with young people with special needs. Sign up on the Web site.


• Saturday – Special Rollers: Come out to this widely popular event and bowl with adults and teens with developmental disabilities. There are only a small number of spots available. Sign up on the Web site.

Back to “Hands On Charlotte Day” on October 16. If you haven’t signed up yet, but you’re planning to do so, why wait? Maybe you’re thinking of putting a team together? Well, send out that email to your friends and family this weekend! Let us know if you have any questions or if you’re having trouble convincing your neighbor to join us on October 16. We’re here to help however we can!