Ok, so it may not save you. Her logic?
"...In Haiti where I work, most of the volunteers arrive and lose weight, get a suntan, meet hundreds of new friends, help save lives and some even fall in love. My intent is to get everyone out of therapy and out helping others. You soon forget about your own mind-pounding problems and realize that yours aren't so bad after all. "
Which is definitely true, but also sets you up for sadness when you leave Haiti (or wherever).
But that said, it is a great article on spontaneous volunteering that reminds us all that we can help. My favorite line (ok, maybe second favorite after the stripper comment;) ) was Allison speaking about her time at Ground Zero after 911:
" During those days, Fema (google them) kept visiting our little makeshift first aid station trying to shut us down. They would declare it was time for the government professionals to take over, but on their 3rd visit to us something very unique happened. The Fema agent gave us his usual spiel about sending the volunteers out of ground zero, but then he covered his badge and proclaimed, "please stay, we really need your help." This one sentence, less than a Twitter feed, helped define the next ten years of my life as I set out on volunteer adventures all over the world. Why? Because I knew I was needed even when the large aid groups got on TV told me I wasn't."
Which has been our experience again and again after disasters.
It also has a nice conclusion:
"Volunteering doesn't have to be overseas. Our country is struggling with so many people out of work. Its time to ask, 'how can I help?'"
One way to help is to come help BonaResponds! We do things every weekend and have 7 wheel chair ramps, 4 roofing jobs, a drywall job, and an addition planned locally not to mention work on local trails, collections for schools, and continued efforts to help in Haiti. Oh and planned trips to Buffalo NY, Camden NJ, and Tuscaloosa AL.
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