#volunteer
11.20.19 - PSA to get out of the house and volunteer at your local shelters.
One of our Guardian ad Litem Child Advocacy Coordinators, Yani Sanchez, wrote the following article for the November edition of our newsletter. We hope this piece encourages and motivates others to take on the role of a Guardian ad Litem and make a change in a child’s life. For more information, visit: www.weareguardians.org
If we were to judge our community by how we treat our most vulnerable, we would all be ashamed of ourselves. I use the word vulnerable quite liberally as that is how best to describe them. They are voices yearning to be heard in a world where laws, political red tape and biased opinions dictate the route to where their journey begins and ends. Without a loud voice, one that resonates in the court room, one that makes a judge, a case manager, a therapist or even a parent take a step back and realize there is truth to what we advocate for. If for a moment, we worked together as one, we can and we will move forward with ways to protect our most vulnerable.
I write this as my favorite holiday nears; Thanksgiving which to me is kind of like Christmas without the hassle of buying gifts but with the bounteous food. As we know it’s a day to give thanks. I have a long list of things to be thankful for. But for the past 4 years, my number one has been being a GAL. It’s easy to forget where we come from and at times throw our hands up in the air and say forget it. It’s just not worth it. But every now and then we meet these special children who remind us why we do what we do.
I’ve been a supervisor for almost 2 years and I’m also an adoptive mother. I’ve seen it all from severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and recently the tragic death of a child. I’ve done visits all over Miami to Broward County at all hours of the day and night. I’ve sat in my car in the middle of a drug bust. I’ve gone out looking for a runaway teen in the middle of the night to find her back with her abusive grandfather. I’ve stood in a hospital room watching a 2 year old take his final breaths. I’ve done it all. At times I ask why? We walk into court and advocate and so many times it feels like our recommendations fall on deaf ears. What is the point?
Truth is had I not sat in my car during a drug bust, I wouldn’t have caught the mother’s boyfriend living in her home. Had I not found my teen in her grandfather’s home, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to tell her that real love doesn’t come from your father or grandfather touching you; real love/unconditional love never abuses, never hurts, real love drives around looking for you in the middle of the night to make sure you are safe. Had I not gone to the hospital everyday for a week to visit a little boy on life support, I would not have hugged my son a little tighter and told him once again that I will always keep him safe. Most importantly, had any of these experiences never happened, I would not be writing this letter as a reminder that what you do, what WE do as GALs matters. It matters to our children. While you gather yourselves with your own families, remember those 22 children we’ve lost this year; Aaliyah, Bryan, K.F., Fernando, Antwan, Ezra, Cherish, Dakota, Michael, Christian, Jayden, Yvonne, Jewel, K.S, Luis and the rest whose names are unavailable. Remember that if we join forces, we have the power to protect those left behind. Remember to rise up and speak up. These are our kids, our community and our future.
This Thanksgiving, I will give thanks for all of you. Without you, our children will continue to be countless whispers in a world where they so desperately deserve to be heard.
Before we name our roles, let’s be frank: everyone working with YVUK is a volunteer. Everyone. We’re a tiny outfit with one inglorious aim: to help young voters understand the murky world of British politics.
At the moment, we operate from two laptops in the home counties in the hours we can spare when we’re not at our day jobs or handling the responsibilities of life.
So these roles won’t offer any compensation beyond the satisfaction of building something hopefully momentous. In the last 3 weeks of the election, we reached over 10,000 people on Twitter and currently average 60-100 interactions per post on Tumblr. This all in our first month of operation.
If that’s enough for you, welcome aboard!
We’re looking for:
- Content writers
- Social media team
- YouTube team
- Graphic designers
- Awareness volunteers (hanging posters, dropping leaflets etc)
If you’re even the slightest bit interested in any of the roles mentioned here, or if you think you can contribute in some other way, please email [email protected] for more details. You can also leave a message in our Ask Box here.
We’re sharing some of our favorite National Volunteer Month features from recent years. 2017’s two-part web story how citizen science and other volunteer programs help engage the public in the care of their national marine sanctuaries.
These volunteers are involved in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s Sanctuary Ocean Count, which offers the community a chance to monitor humpback whales from the shores of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi and Kauaʻi.
Part 1: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/community-engagement-in-sanctuaries.html
Part 2: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/community-engagement-in-sanctuaries-citizen-science.html
How’s your #NationalVolunteerWeek going?
Volunteers help to ensure national marine sanctuaries remain America’s underwater treasures for future generations. These volunteers participate in a wide variety of activities including diving, whale identification, beach cleanups, water quality monitoring, collecting field observations and surveys, acting as visitor center docents, and wildlife monitoring.
Although we think #NationalVolunteerWeek should be every week, this week we are especially appreciative of all our incredible sanctuary volunteers! Are you interested in volunteering with us? Visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/involved/volunteer_future.html
Photo credit: Daryl Duda
We’re sharing some of our favorite National Volunteer Month features from recent years. 2019’s web story shared both the latest accomplishments of the thousands of citizen scientists at work in the sanctuary system and a few of the many opportunities for new volunteers.
In this photo, volunteers in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary haul trash as a part of the International Coastal Cleanup, a massive global effort to clear the trash off our beaches.
It’s officially #NationalParkWeek and #NationalVolunteerWeek!
sPark Collaboration with Channel Islands Naturalist Corps (CINC), a group of specially trained volunteers dedicated to educating passengers on board whale watch vessels visiting NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Park. Volunteers are also trained to lead island hikes within the national park, participate in local outreach events and to conduct citizen science, including the collection of valuable research on marine mammals and other important sanctuary and park resources.
Learn how to apply by visiting https://channelislands.noaa.gov/involved/apply.html
We’re sharing some of our favorite National Volunteer Month features from recent years. 2020’s profiles showcased just a few of our 12,000 outstanding volunteers.
In this photo, volunteers with Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary participate in the Sanctuary Ocean Count to keep track of visiting humpback whales.
Had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at @AnimexFestival this year. I spoke to @jasonwalden1971 and his beautiful @wacom setup at the event. In addition I had the awesome chance of meeting @bobby_br26354 from @insomniacgames and can I just say, you guys rock! Thanks to all!