Seeking the Willing

"How did you get so involved in community," Leslie Murphy--one of the regions most impactful civic volunteers-- was asked. She replied, "follow your passion and just start walking down the path of volunteering."


(Leslie Murphy)

Follow your passion.

Don't stand still and wait for it to come to you. Reach out---start walking down the path of involvement. Move from being a spectator to a participant.

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Last Saturday morning Jeff Love, President of Baker College, and I spoke to 150 Baker College students about leadership, the health and human service sector, and the huge transition in leadership that will take place over the next ten years: 600,000 executive's in the US will retire from the non-profit sector. Who is prepared to lead non-profit organizations in a 2.0 world?

They asked, "how do we get those jobs that are becoming available?"


(Jeff Love)

Follow your passion.

Don't stand still and expect the organization to create the great job for you. Create your own plan of action. Be the author of your work. Develop the skills inside the organization and outside the organization. Don't be a spectator in an organization. Become a full participant.

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About 20 individuals from United Way's Leadership Next --- next generation leaders in SE Michigan --- met with Tony Earley-- Chairman of DTE for an informal dialogue on leadership last night.

"It seems to me that those who have successful careers and lives are people who get involved. I have been involved with community for over 35 years, and it is through that involvement, that I have learned new skills and met some of the best people", Tony reflected.

"Identify what you are interested in ..... and just start getting yourself involved."


(Tony Earley)

Find your passion.

Don't stand still. Start looking for others that are involved in that passion as well. Be curious. Seek to understand. Start helping. Don't wait for an organization to come to you. Rather, become a participant by making the first step.

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Matching retirees with jobs for the public good is a feature in today's New York Times. After a 20 - 30 year career, many retirees are taking their skills and applying them to his or her passions. The retirement model isn't go and play golf in a retirement community. Rather, it is go and take your skills to make a difference. Sometimes for pay. Other times as a volunteer.
Regardless, the pattern is emerging.


Follow your passion.

Don't wait for the next chapter of your life to be prescribed by someone else. Go write your new story ---- the story you always wanted to write. Don't be a spectator of watching others connect their talents to advancing the common good. Become a participant.

How?

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Five steps to getting involved:

1. Identify what you would like to become involved with. What do you want to make a difference on? What would get you out of bed in the morning with a bounce in your step. Get clear about what skills you most want to utilize.

2. Identify organizations that are doing work in that area by calling United Way's 211. We can help you create your contact list.

3. Call the president of those organizations and ask for a 1/2 hour meeting to learn more about the issue you care about and the organization's work. Any CEO worth his/her weight in salt will welcome such a visitor.

4. Ask the CEO to identify other networks that are doing similar work that you could contact.

5. After a few visits, you will begin to see opportunities to help. Make a suggestion to others on how you would like to help. Before long, you will move from looking from the outside to knowing and having relationships with others that share your passion. Just take the first step. It might not be a perfect match right away ---- but over time --- you will find the fit that makes sense for you.

Thanks for reading. Pass it on.

"I'm heading to jail tonight"

"I am heading to the jail tonight," James said to me. He had to report to the jail by the end of the day --- a warrant had been issued because he missed a critical meeting with his parole officer and didn't meet some of his requirements. He works sporadically --- a general laborer on construction sites. He can earn about $200 a week. A hundred goes for rent each week, $50 for child support and he lives on the rest. That is, if he earns the $200.

James history is complicated. Married once and had a son. Got himself in trouble with the law and found himself in prison. Made some other poor choices that kept him in prison for 12 years. Today, he has some work clothes, a pair of boots, a leather jacket, pots and pans and an old van that currently has no brakes.

James is bi-polar and currently has no access to medication. If he isn't working, he is figuring out just how to survive. His friend, who stood nearby in the vacant lot, told James he was going to watch over his van and work on his brakes while he was in prison. James thought he would be back anywhere from 10 - 90 days.

James would be the first to tell you he made some bad decisions. He doesn't want anyone to view him as a victim. He isn't bitter. He wasn't asking for money. But his reality and story is not an isolated one.

James was the last person I met yesterday. I spent the afternoon with two of United Way's 211 associates, John and Nick, listening to and linking community resources with individuals who are homeless or just on the edge.

The time was spent hearing the stories of several individuals who find a way to survive without a permanent address and lifting up on "on ramp" to help. Many were not aware of 211 --- a network of over 7,000 services in SE Michigan. Identifying the barriers buster help is the work that the 211 associates are on. They are mobile resource centers --- feet on the street and wheels on the ground--- connecting helping networks to eliminate barriers for individuals.

There is not enough room to write all the thoughts that cross my mind as I reflect on the afternoon....but suffice to say....the issue of homelessness is complicated. Every individual has a story --- their own journey.

I was struck by a quote I read last night from Nelson Mandela: "Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times -- times in which the world boasts breathtaking advances in science, technology, industry and wealth accumulation -- that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils."

As we left James, we suggested that as soon as he gets out of jail, he should call 211. James pulled a pocket bible out and said, "I am going to write that in here. They can't take this away from me when I go in." He opened the front cover and wrote down --- "211 Nick".

I recognize society does not have much compassion for individuals like James: prison, mental illness, and a collection of bad decisions. The term homeless and working poor are terms that do not illicit wide response. But, when you move from a term to the person, a different light is placed upon the circumstance.

Today's response to these issues is not so dissimilar to 40 -50 years ago. Shelter, bed, food, and some other services. As a leader to an organization that carries in its mission the words "mobilize" and "improve lives", we must seek different ways to address complex social issues. That is our work at United Way-- to find the willing that want to create powerful solutions to complex issues that can improve lives ---- like James.

If you would like to join our 211 Associates on their journey in seeking new solutions, just let me know. We can arrange for you to walk along with them.

Thanks for reading. Pass it on.