today is our day of caring

i don't know if it's national or just local (the actual name 'the day of caring'). my company ENCOURAGES volunteer work any way, any day of the year.

this day of caring, i'm going out and doing something for seniors in a local town (it was supposed to be yard work but it's raining and i don't think that's going to fly).

i can't think of a better way to honor those lost in 9/11 - than for us to help others that may need just a tiny bit of assistance. no one is forcing anyone to volunteer. it has to be real and it has to be from the heart. do you have an extra hour or two a week? a month? there are little brothers and sisters that need big brothers and sisters. there are infants in hospitals that need holding and rocking (not to mention knitted or crocheted blankets and caps), there are the elderly who could always use a meal or someone to dust for them or make them laugh, there is the local food bank that could use a hand packing produce, there is recording a book for the blind, there are so very many things. think about that extra couple of hours you have and what you really want to do with them.


Honoring the Dead by Serving the Living
Survivor Works to Grow A Day of Good Deeds

By Neely Tucker

Washington Post Staff Write

NEW YORK -- The taxi is blowing down FDR Drive, heading south, Ground Zero a mile or so ahead. Jay Winuk is letting a humid breeze blow in through an open window as he considers his dead brother's legacy and the meaning of 9/11.

For eight years, he and fellow public-relations executive David Paine have worked to make the anniversary of the terrorist attacks a national moment of something other than sorrow, something other than the day, amid thousands of other tragedies, Winuk's brother Glenn died while trying to rescue people in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Now on the cusp of a huge success, with congressional and presidential approval officially recognizing Sept. 11 as a day for people to do a good deed -- any good deed -- Winuk is adamant about what he doesn't want this day to become.............

united way day of caring central and northeast connecticut

thank you for serving Sgt. Brian Johnston

and thank you

homes for our troops

Soldier gets a home for the holidays
by News Channel 8's Crystal Haynes
Coventry (WTNH) _ A Connecticut soldier got the keys to his dream house today and it's all due to the kindness of strangers and one non-profit group.
Last summer this construction project was barely house for wounded Marine Sgt. Brian Johnston.
Today, it's not only a house, built by hundreds of homes for our troops volunteers; it's a home just in time for the holidays.
"I knew it was going to be a surprise. I just didn't know what I was going to be surprised with," said veteran Sgt. Johnston.
To help him move in, his mother Vera Herron-Morrey flew in from Utah, a surprise courtesy of volunteers Sharon and Pete Robbins.
"I just cried. I don't get to see him very often and I'm just so proud of him," said Herron-Morrey..........

person of the day

dave rozza, volunteering for food not bombs

you don't have to spend fifty hours a week volunteering. one hour, two hours DO make a difference. help feed people, help people learn to read, clean a school yard, help build a house, spend time talking to the elderly at a nursing home...do SOMETHING for your fellow humans (or animals - they need help too)

Food Soldiers
A Young Father Helps Volunteers Feed The City's Hungry

By JOANN KLIMKIEWICZ Courant Staff Writer

Whether you're just passing through or in it for the long haul, you've heard by now the rap on Hartford. There's no sense of place here, no unifying character. In a supposed "Rising Star" straining to be an urban center. You're hard-pressed to find real vibrancy and community.But let's stop to consider: Is that hype true, or is it a convenient myth we've bought into? We're on a hunt to find out, through the city's nooks and crannies, meeting the people who haven't given up on Hartford and who aren't looking to politicians and public figures to make this star rise. They're the names and faces who don't get much news ink but who probably should. They're the people you probably see about town but whose stories you don't know. They're the folks building community, as they define it and on their own terms — artists, activists, movers and shakers. In this space on the next 10 Thursdays, we'll introduce you to 10 faces of Hartford that we think you should know more about........

picture: DAVE ROZZA, 29, grew up in Hartford but now lives in West Hartford. Rozza sticks close to his Hartford roots. He works part time at the Charter Oak Cultural Center during the week. On weekends, he volunteers for Food Not Bombs, a worldwide volunteer movement dedicated to ending hunger. Rozza helps prepare vegetarian meals and distributes them at Bushnell Park Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 3. (PATRICK RAYCRAFT / November 17, 2007)

i couldn't agree MORE with chris dodd on this one

for years i've been saying, ALL kids right out of high school (especially those who are planning on attending college) should be made to do some type of community service. in return, i think their education should be paid for (if going to a state school) or subsidized (if going to a private school).

i'm all with the adults doing service as well. i'm lucky - my company DOES allow for volunteer work/community service during work hours. (however, i've done most of my volunteerism on my own time)

Dodd Urges Mandatory Community Service


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) -- Aiming to create the first generation in which all Americans serve their country, Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd is offering a range of initiatives to encourage -- and in some cases compel -- community service.
''All Americans should serve our country,'' the Connecticut senator said in remarks prepared for delivery Saturday. ''Endowed as we are with so many gifts, is it too much to ask that we each give something back to this remarkable place?''
He proposes making community service mandatory for all high school students, doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 and expanding the AmeriCorps national service program to 1 million participants by the end of his presidency.
Requiring high school students to perform community service will give them a chance to acquire new skills while meeting the needs of their communities, Dodd said........