Archive for January, 2015
Roslindale Hits the Bigtime
I grew up in a neighborhood of Boston called Roslindale, also known as Rozzie. The older I get, the more fondly I remember this neighborhood and the more loyal I am to it. It is part of my identity. It is a neighborhood of which few have heard, even those who know Boston pretty well. We are the place you go through to get from the better known ethnically diverse neighborhood of Jamaica Plain to the better known upscale neighborhood of West Roxbury. When I was growing up, Roslindale was a lower middle class blue collar enclave. Most of my friends were of Irish, Italian or Greek descent. All three of my siblings still live there. There were (are) housing projects at either end of the neighborhood along Washington Street, Boston’s main street that ran west from downtown through the middle of Rozzie. I didn’t dare enter those projects until I was in my twenties and had some friends among the few white people that lived there. Continue Reading
A Cup of Joe for the Homeless and Hungry
“Where are the rum and cokes?!” shouted Allan, one of the delegation from the Knights of Columbus as our Saturday morning assembly line hit its stride. We were tasked with preparing 2,500 snack packages for our “Cup of Joe’s” project at the SHARE Food Network Warehouse. Each bag needed to be packed with seven items, including granola bars, juice packs, apple sauce and a utensil. Looking at the pallets stacked high with boxed-up ingredients, the project seemed daunting.
We started out somewhat inefficiently with each volunteer grabbing a bag and filling it with the seven items individually before handing it to the packers. Before too long, Jerome, retired Navy and current human resources expert, suggested we split the tasks into stations and move the bags down the line, adding items along the line. Our
Jerome, the Efficiency Expert
productivity soared and the bags began bunching up at the end of the line. This problem was quickly solved by redeploying resources to those packing the boxes for shipment to the hungry people who would benefit from our labors. Henry Ford would have been proud. Allan’s shout out for a little “hair of the dog” was a joke, but reflected the lively, almost celebratory mood in the cavernous warehouse.
Cup of Joe’s provides a nutritional breakfast for guests at Catholic Charities’ shelters, which houses 1,000 men and women a night. It is a pretty labor intensive project, so requires a large number of volunteers. It is also a very “social” project that allows a lot of chatter and joshing as the work gets done. The day I helped, the camaraderie was established quickly. And, once Jerome rejiggered the process, those bags flew down the line into the boxes.
In short, it was a lot of fun and a great entry level volunteer project for people wanting to get involved in Catholic Charities. And bring the kids along. But don’t expect any rum and cokes, as Allan was disappointed to discover.
The Cup of Joe Production Line
Cleaning Crew for the New York Ave. Men’s Shelter
The New York Avenue Men’s Shelter can serve up to 360 men comfortably. During hypothermia season, they can have as many as 400 guests. Now, imagine how much staff it would take to clean a hotel of that size. Whatever the number, it’s probably more than the staff at the Shelter.
Nate gives us our marching orders
On Saturday, January 3rd, I joined a group of eight volunteers tasked with cleaning the shelter. We were supervised by Nate, one of the full time staff. Of course, the fact that he was there on a Saturday, suggests it is more than a full time job. Nate showed us where all the supplies were and gave us assignments, including sweeping the dorms, wiping the walls, mopping the floors, cleaning the exterior, etc.
It was part of a new program in which, once a month, a team will show up to clean the facility, top to bottom. Ideally, it will be largely the same crew, so that we’ll be able to come in and get the job done without Nate’s close supervision. Maybe he can even take Saturday off.
Our team was an eclectic group. Everyone had signed up online on the Catholic Charities of DC website. There were two young mothers with their sons, a couple of students and one old guy (me).
It was hard, but very gratifying, work. While we were scheduled for 3 hours, we finished in 2 1/2.
Cleaning up outside the New York Men’s Shelter
I was so impressed with the commitment shown by my fellow workers. Not to diminish in any way the contribution of large groups that take on volunteer projects as a community, I think there something special about an individual simply signing up to help on his or her own. One of the young mothers, Ellen, told me that, in addition to her 15 year old son Ethan, who was with us, she had a 4 year old and a 15 month old at home. I asked her how she found the time for a volunteer project such as this. Her answer said it all.
“You make time,” she said.
