Monthly Archives: January 2011

First Stop: Richmond & Byrd Elementary School

Posted on January 30, 2011 by | 2 Comments

Everyone’s first question when we tell them about our trip is “Where’s the first stop?”  Much to their surprise, the answer is Richmond Virginia.  Just two hours away from our current home, Richmond is not exactly an exotic locale or National Park with majestic vistas.  But Richmond has something better: my childhood best friend, Zoe Parrish.  Zoe and I were inseparable from when I was 4 years old until I was 10 years old when her family moved to Richmond.

zoe and sharon

My favorite picture from our childhood -- Zoe as race car driver and me as the pit crew

Zoe and Stan

Zoe and Stan

Now Zoe is married to a wonderful guy named Stan and they live with their dog Poppers in a home just outside Richmond.  Zoe works as a Special Needs Elementary School teacher at the school that Stan attended as a kid, Byrd Elementary School in Goochland County.  Zoe is a fantastic teacher, she earned Teacher of the Year in 2009 for her school and is now working on a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology.  We will be staying with them for a few days next week to kick off our trip.

The Byrd Elementary School students have already proven to be successful do-gooders.  This year through meeting reading goals and getting sponsorship from community members, they have raised over $17,000 through the Read to Feed program.  The money will be split three ways, for the local food bank, for Heifer International, and for the school’s Media Center (library).  Check out this nice post on the school’s website that explains the program and includes quotes from both Zoe and her mom, Kathy Albert, who is the guidance counselor at Byrd.

 

Zoe's students, a picture from her class blog

Zoe's students, a picture from her class blog

During our stay, Jay and I will work at the school on a few projects that the teachers have suggested.  Jay will be using his building skills to create some stands for the Outdoor Learning Lab.  I will be working with the school’s Librarian to help with organizing and research.  Since the library / media center is going to be a beneficiary of the fund raising the librarian has the enormous task of figuring out the best way to utilize the money.

So… question time…

Have you been to Richmond?  What do you recommend there?

Do you have experience with youth library services?  Any suggestions for me as I embark on this project?

What book was most influential for you when you were in Elementary School that you think the kids at Byrd just have to have?

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Posted in Service Driven Plan, Travel, Volunteering

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I Don’t Run Towards Fire

Posted on January 27, 2011 by | 5 Comments

Last night when we got home from walking around the neighborhood, I told Jay, “Someone’s going to die in this storm tonight, I just know it”.  We had just passed falling trees, dangling power lines, nonstop sirens, abandoned cars, … complete frozen chaos … and that was just in the four block radius of our house.

Route 29 in snow storm

Route 29 last night around 8:30 pm

When I heard on NPR’s morning edition this morning that a man died last night when a tree fell on a truck, my heart sunk.  When I hear that it is going to snow, I think about the beauty of the snow and cancelling school and work.  It wasn’t until last night as we walked past hazard after hazard that I realized the deadly potential of a storm like this.

Last night we were supposed to be out on the streets of Arlington, talking to people who are homeless for the Annual Point in Time Survey[PDF].  We were all set up to volunteer through Community Volunteer Network with Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network who was leading the count for Arlington County.  Luckily we got a call from the Volunteer Coordinator a few hours before our shift to let us know they were postponing.  I was so relieved.

I do not want to die in the line of duty, whether it be paid or unpaid.  I don’t know if that’s a lack of courage or a heap of good sense, but it is not in my personality to run into burning buildings or to jump in to a river to save someone.  I actually tried being a volunteer on a Rescue Squad in college, but I found it to be too stressful (not to mention I wasn’t very good at it).  Last night as we watched all of the cars on Route 29 spinning their tires and just honking out of frustration, I didn’t want to help.  It seemed too dangerous.  I’d be willing to help my friend if they got stuck in the snow, but not help out a line of cars on a busy street.

The one helpful thing I was willing to do was to use the VDOT site to report the downed power lines that we saw in our neighborhood.  We were so lucky to be warm and safe inside our house last night, and it weighed on me, wondering what we could be doing for others during this disastrous storm.

How about you?  If you were in the area hit by the storm, what did you see?

Do you help when there is danger or personal risk involved?

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Posted in Volunteering

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25 Years of Life Saved – Celebrating My Sister’s Survival

Posted on January 24, 2011 by | 13 Comments

Today is the day that my sister Nora and I celebrate every year.  For Nora, it is the day that 25 years ago, as a 4 year old, she got the bone marrow transplant that saved her life.  For me, it is the day that 25 years ago I was able to provide the life saving marrow.

Nora and Sharon at Disney

Nora and author on our recent trip to Disney

I am 27 years old today – doing the math, that means I was only 2 years old when I became a bone marrow donor.  Obviously it was not my decision and I do not even have any memory of it.  However, if I was given the choice today, I would say yes without hesitation.

As Nora says every year on this day, there were so many people and organizations that contributed to her survival.  Thank you to everyone who supported our family, supported cancer research, and who made our lives as they are today possible.  Without you, I would not have a healthy, talented, funny, and vibrant older sister.  I also would not be on the path I am today, so grateful for the blessings we’ve had and so eager to give back.

Below are a list of organizations that have contributed to our family’s health and happiness and are continuing to make life possible for families affected by cancer. Please consider supporting these organizations in any way that you can.

Nora and Sharon in life jackets

Nora and I on a family vacation several years ago

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Great Ideas For Staying Healthy on the Road from my readers

Posted on January 21, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Earlier this week I wrote a post about My Commitment to Stay Healthy on the Road.  Well, I’m very pleased to report that I had some great ideas from readers and I would like to share a few:

From Rachel:

I love the website http://www.yogadownload.com/ because it has some neat options for trying different yoga routines, then when you find one you really like you can buy it and have a pdf of the different poses as well as an audio voice talking you through it – after a few sessions, all you need is the audio on an ipod!

yoga

and

bring some little tupperware containers with you, and every person you stay with, you could ask to steal a little of whatever sauces or salad dressings sound good in the fridge, for a lot of variety of things to dip fresh veggies into as you drive.

From Mary Anne, who did a bike tour across Canada:

She suggests cous cous with a variety of add ins such as kale, chick peas, and cubed cheese …  Cover with all other ingredients, drizzle oil & vinegar on top, and enjoy! – while bike touring my tour partner and I would make a LOT of this, eat half of it one night then save the other half for lunch the next day.

Cous Cous

From Sarah:

Farmers markets can be pricey depending on the location, but most areas have them now and you can buy as little as you want. Since their focus is fresh/seasonal fruits and vegetables, you can stock up on non-perishables that are easy to use without cooking and tasty too!

and

Take walks everywhere. It will help you learn your new neighborhood and it’s aerobic exercise.

farmers market

Thanks guys for the great suggestions!  We welcome additional ideas and recipes.

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Posted in Personal, Travel

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FOR SALE: Downsizing & Raising Some Gas $$

Posted on January 19, 2011 by | Leave a comment

It’s getting serious now…  this is Jay’s and my last week of work.  We are set to move out of our house by the end of the month.  We are making calls this week to resolve issues with insurance and try to take care of paperwork and taxes.  Not very glamorous, and a lot of work.

In order to move out, we need to sell or donate most of what we own.  Below are some pieces we are hoping to sell.  These are posted on Craigslist as well.  Please let us know if you or someone you know would like to purchase any of these items.  Any money we manage to earn through selling our stuff is going straight towards gas money for the trip.

digital camera

Canon Powershot S1 SI, Digital Camera with Optical Zoom for Sale, $50

IPOD Nano

IPOD Nano with Case, Charger & Headphones for Sale, $40


side tables
Matching side tables for sale, $40 for the set
Ikea Bed

Ikea Bed for Sale, $175

mirror

Mirror for Sale, $40

plastic crates on wheels

Plastic Stacking Crates on Wheels for Sale, $5.00 for pair

couch
Couch for Sale, $150
microwave
Microwave for Sale – $15

I also have the following books for sale:

Communities of Practice: Critical Perspectives (2007).  New, paperback.  $25 (>50% off)
Catalytic Conversations: Organizational Communication and Innovation by Ann C. Baker (2010).  New, hardcover, some underlining.  $25 (35% off).
Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach. Second Edition.  Ian Palmer, et al.  (2009).  Used, paperback, some underlining.  $25 (more than 80% off)
Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization, 2nd Edition.  David Coghlan & Teresa Brannick.  (2005).  New, paperback, clean.  $10 (75% off).
Wikipatterns.  Stewart Mader.  (2008).  New, paperback, clean.  $10 (65% off).
The Hidden Power of Social Networks. Rob Cross & Andrew Parker.  (2004).  New, hardcover, lots of underlining.  $15 (>50% off).

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Posted in Personal, Service Driven Plan

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Commitment to Stay Healthy on the Road

Posted on January 18, 2011 by | 2 Comments

I do well with routine.  For those who know the “True Colors” Personality profile, I am a Gold/Green and I find that making specific goals and sticking to a regular schedule are the best way for me to stay healthy and organized.  Last year, I committed to creating healthy habits around eating.  I used the free Lose It! App on the IPOD touch to record every single thing that I ate and to track my calories.  In addition, I used the Wii Fit to check in everyday and track my progress with weight and BMI.  Finally, I focused on cooking more and integrating more vegetables into my diet.

With these three strategies, I was able to move from the edge of obesity to the edge of normalcy, 32 pounds of weight loss.

Roast Chicken

Last year my go to healthy recipe was this Roast Chicken, which won't be possible on the road

For 2011, a regular schedule is out of the question.  We are going to be on the road all year and living in a variety of different circumstances.   I am concerned about keeping the healthy habits that I learned last year, while also building new ones (such as brushing and flossing after every meal).

The challenge:

  • A much tighter food budget (one of last year’s strategies was to splurge on great food that was also healthy so that I would be encouraged to eat healthy food at home)
  • No scale, Wii Fit, or group fitness classes
  • a lack of routine or even sense of time that will make it challenging to do something at the same time every day
  • limited health insurance coverage  — It will be more important than ever to stay healthy, because any trips to the doctor are going to be far more expensive

Strategies for staying healthy on the road:

  • Find healthy recipes that can be made on our camping stove or without cooking
  • Continue to record my food in the Lose It! app
  • Use a measuring tape to take a waist measurement everyday and record it using my IPOD touch
  • Start each morning with a routine that is flexible enough to be possible anywhere (stretching, healthy breakfast, brushing & flossing, journaling)

Do you have a healthy recipe or suggestion you can recommend?






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Posted in Service Driven Plan, Travel

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My Sponsors, continued

Posted on January 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment
Cindi and Morgan

Jay's parents, Cindi and Morgan

Jay’s parents, Cindi and Morgan, are like 2nd parents to me and have been amazingly supportive of all of our endeavors.    You may have seen Morgan on this blog before as he accompanied me to the Community Garden in Phoenix over the Thanksgiving weekend.  We look forward to spending a lot more time with Jay’s parents throughout the Service Driven adventure as we use Phoenix as a home base.

Uncle Nathan and Aunt Mariel

Uncle Nathan and Aunt Mariel

Uncle Nathan and Aunt Mariel were kind enough to give us a donation in the form of a Visa Gift Card which allowed us to use part of it for the Sponsorship and then part of it in getting camping supplies for our road trip.  Nathan and Mariel recently got married and we were so excited to welcome Nathan into the family officially.  We will miss living so close to them.

Terri

Terri, an old picture of us

Terri and I have been friends since I was born.  Seriously.  She was born 3 days before me and our parents brought us together as babies.  We have followed similar paths, doing Girl Scouts together, going to college at a close by state school and then returning to the DC metro area and pursuing grad school.  Terri and Phil recently got engaged, which is an exciting reason for us to circle back to Virginia in August.

my cousin Karl and his daughter Samantha (Amy not pictured)

My cousin Amy and her husband Karl were also generous in giving us a Visa Gift card which we were then able to us towards both the StartingBloc sponsorship and supplies for our trip.  Amy, who worked in publishing, was also one of the first subscribers to the blog and has been helpful in advice on writing and publishing.  We will miss seeing our east coast relatives while we are travelling primarily in the West, and will particularly miss seeing Samantha as often, as she is growing and changing every day.

 

And last but certainly not least is my friend, Carolyn Ha, for which I do not have a recent picture because I have not seen her very much since High School.  Carolyn was one of my best friends at TJ.  We used to talk about getting into TJ on the “ditz quota” as we skipped through the halls and gave out gold stars for good fashion.  She went on to be a Pharmacist and had clearly been just going along for the fun on my joke about the ditz quota.  Carolyn is one of those great responsible, smart, and determined young people that are going to be the leaders of my generation.

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A BIG Thank You To My Sponsors

Posted on January 14, 2011 by | 3 Comments

My sponsors chartWhen I started asking for sponsorship for StartingBloc, a young leaders program that will kick off Service Driven next month, I had faith that my family and friends would come through for me.  I believed that they would support me and this initiative because I have such an amazing group of friends and family.  Thank you so much to everyone that contributed.  I look forward to sharing what I learn next month.  For all my sponsors, I will volunteer in your name during the trip, so expect to see another blog post with your name on it down the road.

Now a little more about who my sponsors are:

My parents, Melinda and John

My parents are always the first to show support for my ideas and adventures.  They stepped up right away with a donation to get the sponsorships rolling.

LinMarie, my AmeriCorps buddy

I met LinMarie through the AmeriCorps program in Flagstaff, Arizona (she’s seen here standing outside our old house in Flagstaff).  LinMarie and I were great partners through our year in AmeriCorps, working together whenever we could and offering support.  LinMarie has an amazing commitment to service and I really look forward to seeing her when we get to Arizona.

Son, my date for prom and go to guy

Son, who I met freshman year of high school, has always been an inspiration for me.  He came to this country as a small child from Vietnam and earned his citizenship during high school.  A true genius, he was substitute teaching for his mom’s college courses as a teenager.  This year he will become a doctor, working for the Air Force, focused on emergency medicine.

Uncle Chris, my cousin Stephanie, and Aunt Madelon

Another of my sponsors was Aunt Madelon.  Madelon is very generous, last year she and Stephanie baked cookies and bread and put on a fabulous bake sale that raised several hundred dollars for the American Cancer Society.

Tiffany, CVN's Chair

 

I’ve only known Tiffany since early 2010, but through working together on Community Volunteer Network, I’ve come to admire her greatly.  She is a true servant leader, focusing on recognizing others and trying to maximize their talents.  This year she is also the Chair of the Arlington County Fair Board, so the Arlingtonians have a great fair to look forward to this summer!

 

Maria, a fellow ODKM graduate

Maria was in the ODKM program with me and I got to know her over the last year as well.  She is a passionate person with a big heart and I learned a lot from her in a short amount of time.  Even after the trauma of being in a hit and run car accident she managed to get a check in the mail to send me a donation.

Jay's grandmother, Millie

Jay’s Grandmother, Millie, has always been so supportive of everything we do.  She sent me a graduation gift which I was able to put towards the StartingBloc program fee so I am counting her amongst my sponsors.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Posted in StartingBloc

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RePost – You Could Be the Next Educational Program Assistant for the Women’s Center

Posted on January 10, 2011 by | Leave a comment

When I looked back at my posts, for 2010, this post about the Women’s Center was the least viewed.  Therefore, I would like to repost it now in order to bring more attention to the great work of the Women’s Center in Vienna Virginia and their needs for volunteers.

 

In order to leave northern Virginia and volunteer all over the country, I first have to give up my commitments here.  One of those commitments is as a volunteer for the Women’s Center in Vienna, VA.  I have volunteered for them as an Educational Program Assistant for a few months now and have really enjoyed the position.  It is the perfect volunteer role for someone that enjoys learning new things and having an independent volunteer role.  This could be you!

ABOUT THE POSITION

As an Educational Program Assistant, I would arrive 30 minutes before the training to prepare the room, welcome the presenter, and register attendees.  The Women’s Center offers regular trainings on many different topics from resume building to preparing for a divorce.  The trainings are held in theevenings or on weekends in a few different locations around northern Virginia (particularly in Vienna, Manassas, McLean, Arlington, Fairfax, and Sterling).  Most are 2-3 hours, so the volunteer commitment is 3-4 hours.

HOW TO APPLY

Online Volunteer Connection logoI found this volunteer opportunity through Volunteer Arlington’s Online Volunteer Connection (OVC) and contacted the Volunteer Coordinator using the OVC.  Check out the listing.   She then sent me an application and asked me to return it with a resume.  I met with her for a short interview and then reviewed the list of upcoming classes to see which ones were a good match for my schedule.

MY EXPERIENCE AT THE WOMEN’S CENTER

I enjoyed this experience because it was a chance for me to learn about a long-standing successful non-profit as well as attend classes for free.  I chose to volunteer for classes that interested me, such as Beating the Sugar Blues and Successful Resume Essentials.  These are classes I would not have taken otherwise, but I always learned something new.  The class participants were very engaged in the topics and the small intimate classroom setting allowed for a lot of discussion.

Two challenges I experienced were traffic and turnover.  The Women’s Center building in Vienna is located right in the heart of Vienna, which can be a nightmare during rush hour.  The best work around was when it was warmer out I biked to the training using the WO&D trail which runs 1 block away from the center.  The second challenge was that soon after I started volunteering, the Volunteer Coordinator position changed hands.  Since I volunteer after hours, I have never had a chance to meet the new volunteer coordinator.  The transition was smooth in terms of getting the support that I needed (they prepare a folder ahead of time for you), but I feel a bit disconnected.

Check out a previous blog post, Lifelong Learner: A Volunteer Vocation, from September 2010 about volunteering at the Women’s Center.

 

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Planning for the Grand Canyon – Where It All Began

Posted on January 9, 2011 by | Leave a comment
Toroweap overlook

Overlook at Toroweap (Picture I took in 2003)

Jay and I first started dating at the Grand Canyon.  We were both students in a University program called Grand Canyon Semester in 2003.  We had been taking classes at NAU in Flagstaff for two months but hadn’t had much interest in one another.  It wasn’t until we got out of the classroom and into the great outdoors that we took a liking to one another and discovered we make a great team.  October 2003, we spent living in the Grand Canyon, first on the South Rim, then rafting on the Colorado River, and finally backpacking on the North Rim.  By the time I got back to campus I had found a second home in the Canyon walls and had found my partner in life.

Faith and Jay at Toroweap

Our friend Faith (left) and Jay looking over the edge at the Toroweap overlook (picture I took in 2003)

The first organization on both of our lists to work with during Service Driven is Grand Canyon Trust (GCT).  Both because of our connection to the Canyon and our first hand knowledge of the great work that GCT does, we are thrilled to get a chance to participate in their volunteer trips.  Their trips are very similar to the American Hiking Society‘s Volunteer Vacations, (which we also hope to volunteer with), but they are free of charge to participants.  GCT is one of the only organizations I know of that runs free “voluntourism” trips in the United States.

Nicole at the Toroweap overlook (picture I took in 2003)

The first trip that we hope to take with GCT is the March trip, Vegetation Program Days at the Toroweap Campground in Grand Canyon National Park.  The Toroweap region is in a remote part of the Arizona strip, only accessible through Kanab, Utah by 4-wheel drive vehicle.  We were lucky enough to go there with Grand Canyon Semester as part of a geology field trip.  The experience that you get from exploring the remote edges of the Grand Canyon is worlds away from what most tourists experience standing behind the guardrail at the South Rim.  Camping at Toroweap challenged my understanding of natural beauty as I was both awestruck by the dramatic landscape while also craving a drop of green plant life in the endless panorama of rock.  We can not wait to get back out there and help protect this incredible habitat.

sunset at Toroweap campground

Sunset at Toroweap campground (photo taken by Chuck Barnes on the GCS trip in 2003)

 

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