What price volunteerism

As someone who devotes a sick amount of free time to volunteer causes, I'm beginning to rethink some of my commitments. Not in terms of stopping what I do, because I only do what I love, but in terms of what effect it is having on our society in general.

Can I say that volunteering has a down side?

California continues to spiral down in revenue, creating dire budget status. Volunteer organizations are being to be asked to "step up to the plate" and fill in the gaps, either with hands or wallets, even more so than previous years.

In our high school, booster groups are vying for the space in the front of the school for weekend car washes. Clubs are selling more and more goodies in order to support themselves. Parents will be exhorted again and again to provide donations to sports teams, the band, clubs, student government, and the like.

I can't support everyone financially - so I politely ignore some of the requests: can't buy tamales sold by the friend's soccer team, must pass up the car wash on my way to the store today, gonna skip the frozen yogurt benefiting the sports team, and I really can't participate in all the run/walk/thon events that come my way.

I guiltily encourage my friends to visit my own daughter's soccer car wash, but I completely understand when not all of them show up.

On another note, super volunteers are possibly taking jobs that were once held by every day people.

My kids' elementary school has a tradition of raising money to pay for the librarian's salary, year after year. This goes back at least 15 years at this point. It's great that the school can manage to raise that kind of money in a consistent way, and that the parent group continues to support that use of funds in their yearly budget review. However, now there is no incentive whatsoever for the school to consider budgeting for a librarian in their annual school plan.

I'm thinking also of the local neighborhood association which organizes regular groups of volunteers to go to the park and trim bushes, clean trash, prune branches and plant new landscapes. This program has kept our park beautiful and our neighborhood desirable. But perhaps the City will not re-staff at pre-crisis levels once tax revenues come back, thinking that the volunteer corps will continue to pick up the slack.

I know there's a balance -- people with time on their hands and good hearts SHOULD continue to volunteer. It feeds my soul to be useful and help others. But I certainly don't want to be continually filling the void with cash that could help my own kids fund their college education, or with labor that keeps an honest person from a job. How do we reconcile this?

Welcome

It's the end of summer here in Sacramento, at least it feels that way today. The breezes have picked up, and it's barely above 80 degrees at 3 in the afternoon. I always wonder how people without kids feel at the end of summer. Is there any anticipation of the beginning of fall and the start of school? In some areas, the start of school means that traffic gets heavy again as parents are on the road carpooling away.

I am looking forward to the return of structure in our lives, though I know the kids are going to miss it.

Post-Election Musings

Well, thirteen days later I guess we have accepted the new [re-elected] president. Not to say that anyone I know is happy about it, there are emotions in varying degrees from "Isn't there anything else we can do? Any other challenge we can bring up?" to "Oh well, I hope four years goes fast."

It is hard to accept, particularly coming from California where so much of the populace seemed excited about Kerry, regime change, and the possibility for a different world future. So much seemed to be organized by the email sites. How could "nothing" come out of this great effort, nationwide?

Election Eve Jitters

Here we are, on the cusp of what may be the most exciting election of my lifetime! Living in California, media continually remind us that "your vote doesn't matter" in a state where John Kerry is predicted to capture all 55 electoral votes. However, I feel very strongly about always exercising my right to vote, and I also want to provide my kids the correct civic example.

This year, I think the result of the presidential election will come about if enough young people will get to the polls. Opinion polls typically only sample land lines; many twenty-year-olds only have cell phones, and therefore haven't been polled on their preference. It's already November 2 on the East Coast! Scary thought!

I wonder if anyone will get a good sleep tomorrow night???

This is my daughter Claire on her first day of school this year. Dig the flaming Converse! 

Here's my son Ben on his first day of middle school. 

Here I am with my husband John, son Ben and daughter Claire -- we are attending my cousin's wedding in Sonoma. 

Starting Up

In hopes of having a tool to stretch my writing skills, here I begin. I've been an avid reader all of my life, yet my hopes of becoming a professional writer or journalist were dashed upon getting my first "C" in English 1-B at Cal. Somehow, I do believe I have good writing skills and I believe that journaling is going to be helpful.