FastPivot’s team members had a chance to take a paid day off this past Monday to volunteer in honor of Martin Luther King Day, and check out the good many of them did in their communities:
Jennifer Boos, Project Manager:
Volunteered with the Bent Creek Community Trail Improvement Project (Trash Cleanup)
Her story: Living in such a beautiful place as the mountains of Western North Carolina, it breaks my heart to see how some so carelessly dispose of possessions, whether it’s the fast food cup along the side of the road, tires in the river or a trash dump in the woods. So, when an opportunity arose to clean up some property bordering the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, I used my day of service to assist.
Bent Creek is considered by some to be a mountain bike haven, and I’d have to agree. It also is used for hiking, camping, fishing, swimming and walking dogs, not to mention hunting. Being so close to Asheville, it sees frequent activity; and, maintaining a beautiful park is challenge in itself. Downed trees on trails are quickly removed, washouts repaired and facilities maintained. The park also borders the Bent Creek Community, and of late, trails are being established to help residents gain access to the park without having to park in the lots (which are often overflowing) or bike on the busy entrance road.
Unfortunately, before the area became such an outdoor Mecca, some of the occupants of the area used the ravines and woods as their personal dumping grounds. As new trails are being established, it’s no fun to run across these spots; and, since they border the park, it’s often a bit of a challenge to determine who is going to pick up the mess.
Although it often looked like rain and the weather didn’t quite get to the balmy temperatures predicted for the day, I worked along a patch of adjoining land, uprooting bottles, old shoes, toy parts and tons of mostly rusted cans from the ground. The winning treasure was even finding “the kitchen sink.” Despite a few scratches from briars and a Locust tree thorn lodging itself in my neck, the day was beneficial and netted bags of trash and recycling that will now find their proper resting place, while restoring at least one part of the landscape back to it’s unspoiled state.
Tim Whitacre, Programmer
Volunteered with NEPA & CRU
His story: I got the opportunity to spend the day working with NEPA Youth for Christ (high school students) and Cru (Campus Crusade – College Students) at both the Scranton Rescue Mission, as well as the Teen Parents.
The Scranton Rescue Mission is a place that feeds and clothes the homeless. They provide canned goods, boxed food and other non perishables to the homeless community, as well as winter coats and clothing in general. We were able to help them clean the building and organize the clothes and food to help them better accomplish their mission.
Teen Parents is a ministry to teen mothers and fathers. Over the past three years this ministry has exploded into a thriving program assisting teenage families in need. They have a weekly meeting where they can improve the lives of these individuals, when there might not be anyone else who can. They also provide free clothes and pantry items. From time to time they are also able to offer diapers, formula and baby wipes. We helped out by cleaning the building and organizing the clothes and kitchen.
Daphne Kirkwood, HR Director
Volunteered with Animal Compassion Network
Her story: Just a note before my ‘documentary’ portion — The value of the MLK Service day is really resonating with my kids and doing this volunteering for the past 3 years has shown them the value in taking the time to give back to our community. (THANK you FASTPIVOT for this wonderful opportunity!) They are realizing the opportunities available to volunteer and they are feeling the heart to serve and I believe they will continue these traditions throughout their own lives and give back in even bigger ways.
My daughter, Chloe, said to me, “Mom, I don’t think many people volunteer anymore on MLK Day… and I said to her, “Well a lot of people don’t necessarily look at MlK day as a day that they give back by volunteering, but they should!” Wouldn’t it be great if everyone thought of MLK day as a service day instead of just ‘being off work/school for MLK Day holiday?!
We volunteered (me and the kids) at ACN – Animal compassion network, at Pet Harmony in Asheville, NC. At Pet Harmony they loaded up one of the vans with lots of dogs to take to Massachusetts. Massachusetts has a shortage in dogs! This is the 2nd trip they have taken to drop off dogs there and the first trip/batch of dogs were 100% adopted! We had a great time playing and socializing with the cats and dogs. They were all well-mannered and fun to play with and we took them on long walks so they could enjoy the warmish January day.
Here is info about ACN:
ACN Mission Statement: Our mission is to help end the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable pets in our community by finding lifelong, stable and loving homes for companion animals in need; by offering assistance to the community’s pets to help ensure their well-being and to keep them in their homes; by advocating for animal welfare; and by educating the public about the contributions companion animals make to happy families and healthy communities.
To Accomplish its Mission, ACN:
– Maintains an extensive foster/adoption network to find responsible, loving homes for rescued pets;
– Operates pet harmony, its innovative pet store dedicated to making second-chance pets everyone’s first choice;
– Provides a comprehensive spay/neuter assistance program to prevent the birth of unwanted animals;
– Offers pet food and dog houses to qualified low-income households;
– Promotes animal-friendly legislation on the local, state and national level; and
– Provides public education programs throughout the area.
In addition, I volunteered for the Asheville Triathlon club – which I do on a regular basis anyway as Vice President, but still thought it would be a good time/day to get some things done for the club. I worked on website updates as well as 2012 plans for the club. My main focus was planning the Indoor Triathlon at the Reuter YMCA for March and collaborating with the facility, outlining plans, etc. The Asheville Triathlon Club is a non-profit multisport club based out of Asheville, NC, serving multisport athletes in Asheville and the surrounding counties of Western North Carolina. The ATC is a great place to meet other local multisport athletes, to find training partners, and access valuable resources in our community.
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Did you have a chance to volunteer for MLK day, what did you do?
