Volunteering

I believe that this passed week was National Volunteer Week. So I thought that I would help out and do a little community work. This Saturday I volunteered with a group called One Brick. One Brick is an "a volunteer organization that brings people together to help non-profits and community organizations staff their events or work on projects." That comes straight from the FAQ page of their site. I worked at Park Presidio cleaning up the park. Most people who have driven to the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco know the park as that really long divider that that has all those trees. Well I was surprised to learn that it is actually a park that has a path. Yes you can run right down the middle of most of it.

Unfortunately there are large parts of the park that are used by the local homelss for shelter. It was clear that there were people who lived in some parts of the park. There was even a tinny person sized shed (about 2 feet high and 6 feet long) in one area. I hate to be cheesey, but while we tried to take care of the park by cutting down dead leaves and striping ivy to give light to all of the plants it also exposed a serious neighborhood issue. I don't want to use the word "problem" because that just sounds too negative. One of the park managers said that he wouldn't mind the homeless if they could just keep things clean. Some of the local neighbors said that the exposure should move the homeless community out into the open and drive them away. My question is where do they go? I am not advocating that we set up a shanty town right there between 14th and Funston. But it is an real straight up honest question.

I think that this one day of volunteering really makes me want to do it more often. I want to feel like I am actually helping out. One Brick is a non-commital organization, so I can volunteer and often as my schedule allows. My goal is to start off once a month and then work my way up.

On a completely different note. My sweater is solwly comming along. Unlike some people I know, I am not a crazy fast knitter. But then again, I give myself a whole summer to finish a big project and we're still in spring so I am way ahead.