Volunteering & Volunteer Students

This post is dedicated to a very good friend of mine, who is about to welcome a new family member! With #2 due in about 4 weeks, she is preparing for what she’ll wear when her body is in a non-pregnant state.

She recently emailed me, pondering what store to live by when she’s ready to shop.  Ironically, I got a catalog for her store of choice the same week she inquired about it…and I have something different in mind.

Enter, Land’s End.  In my experience, most everything has been comfortable, well-made and they have been adding bits and pieces of design to compete “up.”  They also cater nicely to a wide variety of sizes (some categories have more items than others) – regular, petite, petite plus, plus and tall.  The value (quality for price) is strong and they offer most items in a number of different colors.

Most importantly, however, I believe this line of clothing will help her meet key objectives:

1. Comfort
2. A range of items for different needs
3. A little style and a lot of color (for clarification purposes, this is my addition to her list)

The following outfits – all put together with products being sold right now at Land’s End – are my recommendations based on what she told me her wardrobe needs are.

And in case you’re wondering, I am not conducting an infomercial or being paid for this post…

1) ERRANDS

The items above, including a simple color palette, can be mixed and matched to create countless outfits.  The jeans and sweaters are for cooler days and evenings and the scarf adds some texture, color and interest.

Yes – I would pair the brown flats or blue sandals with any of the bottoms or tops shown, and, yes, I would pair the navy or coral sweater with nay of the tops or bottoms!

These outfits are great for:

• The grocery store, library, post office and Target
• Doctor appointments
• School pick-up and drop-off
• Morning coffee with the neighborhood girls

Left: scoop layering tee, boyfriend jeans, ruffle cardigan, cotton knit scarf, ballet flat

Middle: ruffle collar polo, poplin cargo pants

Right: stripe t-shirt, 7″ chino shorts, cotton cardigan, cotton knit scarf, medium terrain sandals

2) OCCASIONS

These outfits use some of the same pieces from the Errands category and are slightly dressier.  The pants on the left are striped and would work with any of the top combos shown.

A white denim on top or bottom is a dressier take on denim and the structured lightweight denim capris are a more dressy take on a capri.

The metallic gold flip-flop and/or knit scarf dress these outfits down while the patent yellow croc flats with the beaded necklace dress them up.

These outfits can take my friend to any of the following:

• Volunteering at school
• Church
• Bunco
• Book club
• Dinner club
• Brunch

Left: cotton cardigan, wide leg pincord pants, silk cotton ruffle shell, cotton knit scarf, faux croc flats

Middle: ruffle cardigan, scoop layering tee, boot cut jeans

Right: jean jacket, lightweight denim capris,  ruffle collar polo, 36″ beaded necklace, leather flip-flops

3) EVENTS

Living in a smaller city is less demanding in terms of style…but that does not mean all sense of style should be sacrificed or ignored.

A white dress for summer is crisp, refreshing and breezy and can be paired with the navy sweater and patent yellow flats to dress it up or the coral sweater and brown flats for a slightly more casual take.

The patterned skirt (I believe it’s a chrysanthemum pattern) is navy and can be paired with either sweater or shoe as well.  Personally, I might adjust the hem slightly to be at the knee instead of right below the knee for a more flattering silhouette.

Lastly, the navy wrap dress pairs well with the coral sweater and brown flats with a nice horn necklace to break up the solids.

These pieces work for date nights.  They could also be worn for any of the occasions listed under #2.

Left: cotton dress, ruffle cardigan, 36″ beaded necklace, faux croc flats

Middle: ruffle cardigan, scoop layering tee, pattern skirt

Right: modal wrap dress, cotton cardigan, horn link necklace, ballet flat

4) MISCELLANEOUS

To address a few additional needs, and to showcase how comprehensive Land’s End is, I wanted to include several items that were not specifically on the list, but should be considered.

First, an outfit I KNOW will get a lot of use, a casual athletic ensemble.  The blue shoes and the coral top definitely coordinate.

I really like this rain jacket because of the cinched waist and the bright color – perfect for every day and dressier events.

The reusable tote bag is on here to a) remind you to reuse and b) because it has a cute color/pattern combo.

Lastly, my friend needs a new bathing suit.  For anyone looking to hide a little something, I definitely believe a one-piece is more flattering than a skirted two-piece.  I have tried on so many tankinis with skirts and they never do me justice.  This swimsuit, in purple, has a great strap design on the back and a skirted/ruched front to minimize attention at the midsection and I’ve selected a straw hat for an elegant way to protect light skin.

Shop these items: half-zip pullover, sport pants, terrain ballet shoes, rain jacket, market tote, all-over control tunic swimsuit, straw hat

Thirty-something items later, this is an extensive spring-to-summer wardrobe to help inspire what pieces to consider and how to coordinate colors and pieces into outfits.

If you need help getting your closet ready for spring to summer, Fabuliss specializes in putting outfits together – from your closet or from the store.  Contact me at hello@fabuliss.com for more information!

P.S. Land’s End also has a specialty line – Land’s End Canvas – that showcases taking style a step further while maintaining a classic, simple approach.  My only bias against this line is that it is currently offered in regular sizes.

Good morning friends,

The day is fine and soon the medical service will start.  As there are a lot of people waiting outside the Manav Parivar to come inside  the compound.

Flowers at Manav Parivar

Nice flowers…… right?  I was looking around the greeny area in the compound of Manav Parivar.  There are a lot of beautiful flowers you can find here.  Green grass, swaying trees, mooing animals, birds flying and many others.  What a nice place to stay with.

The medical service is just starting  when I reached the area of one department there.

B.P. Checking Department

This is the B.P checking Department.  All patients pass through this area regardless of their illness.  They have to be checked before they’re be told to proceed to the next step.

Breast Cancer Screening Department

This is the Cancer Screening Department.  Here, one female volunteerare assigned and  will ask all the patients.  She will ask at least 40 questions in relation to breast cancer.   Female patients above 40 of age are being filtered here.  This is the SOP for the breast cancer patient women.  With all the patients reply to the questions, the medical group will easily determined if the patients have the signs of breast cancer.

What a day!  ….

…to where I am being led. There may be a delay, I may not be able to go on the second Earthquake Relief Trip due to the fact that my mother just had back surgery and I’m across the country. Fundraising isn’t easy being totally out of your realm. After some prayer and logical thought, I have come to the conclusion that I will not be able to fly to Haiti in a week. Does that mean I won’t be going?? Absolutely not. Just not on March 12th.

I have been trying to finagle around several impediments to fundraising and preparing to go to Haiti, however, I cannot ignore the fact that I’m certainly no superhero. I am a child of God, and a feisty & compassionate one, at that, but I don no red cape. I have come to accept that I will be able to go on one of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Trips that come up later in March and the upcoming months. I know Rachel, the Director, of Help Haiti Now is looking forward to me joining their team. For that, I am grateful to have the skills to help. And God (and I think almost most humans I interact with) know I am excited too. Just in due time. Life does not always work out the way you expect it to, and I am glad to offer my plans up to God, as they are of Him. I know where I am needed after a lot of prayer, and I know God will provide a way for me to be able to go to Haiti in the coming months.

It is absolutely infeasible to expect to be nursing my mother back to health post-op, go home to New Jersey, pack up and ship out less (with ALL that OTC medication) than 48 hours later. I wasn’t expecting the relief trip to be so soon when I came out to care for my Mom. I also have not had the opportunity to really reach out to my home community in some of the ways I would like to before I embark on this mission. I have faith that God will lead me in the correct path re: fundraising and when exactly He wants me to minister to people in every way I am able to in Haiti.

Thank you for visiting & sharing in this journey! I would love to hear from you via comments!

Wishing you a blessed and glorious day,

Danielle

I was back volunteering at the gardens yesterday (Thursday), but this time they had a different task in mind for me. Rather than bashing brambles, I had to prune buddleias. Which was a much easier task overall, and I sustained less injuries. And the few that I did sustain were from brambles, no doubt in revenge for last time.

So, pruning basically involves hacking the plant to bits in a way that doesn’t actually kill it. I hear buddleias are hard to kill anyway though (like they’d let a n00b with 1 day of experience near anything that might actually die);  the gardener told me that even a stick of dynamite wouldn’t do the trick. Possible inspiration for a masters dissertation there?

As I said, this was easy work on the whole, and I got quite good quite quickly even if I do say so myself. However, I couldn’t help but feel that as I got better at pruning, the buddleias leveled up with me! The first one I dealt with was like a tutorial enemy – a thin scrawny looking thing with a few crazy tangled up branches, kind of what I’d imagine myself to look like if I were a plant. I tried to block that image out of my head as I cut it down to below knee height. The second one was a mid boss, similar but thicker and a nightmare to cut through. Really pushed my meager strength to it’s limits, but I managed it. The third one wasn’t thick, it was a complete mass of thin wiry branches (3-4 times the amount on the others, or at least it seemed that way) that grew out in all directions, leaving no easy way of getting to the centre of the plant. I had to prune my way through, all the time dealing with random branches whipping me in the face (lucky I wear glasses, really). This was also the place where the most brambles were growing, to make things worse. Definitely last boss material, that one. I had fun throwing it on the fire afterwards.

I won’t be back there until next Friday due to various reasons, but I do still plan on going there three days a week eventually. So I’ve got no real plans until Wednesday now, meaning loads more anime and Pokemon! With regards to Pokemon though, I think I’m nearing the limit of the number I can catch myself using just Diamond, Emerald, Flame Red and Ruby versions. Though since I dealt with the easier Pokemon first, the few remaining should keep me busy. So I guess it’s time I looked for my DS wi-fi connector, I know I have one somewhere…

• Bouncy Day - Saturday, March 13 ,11am-2pm at GHS gym – $5/kid – pizza, drinks and bake sale items also available for purchase. We are still looking for volunteers to help with this event. Please let Kendall Hoffler know if you can help with a 45-minute shift.
• Night at the Movies – Friday, March 19, gates open at 5:30pm at the Goochland Drive-In Theatre – $3 for adults and kids 12+, $2 for kids 2-11, kids under 2 are free. Bring the entire family to see a vintage drive-in intro film, cartoon shorts and the main feature “A Boy Named Charlie Brown.”
• RES Night at CiCi’s – Tuesday, March 23, 5-8pm at CiCi’s Pizza at Westchester Commons. You enjoy a great pizza and dessert buffet, and RES enjoys 10% of the sales! $4.99 for adults, $2.99 for kids.

Thanks, as always, for your support!

Beth A. Hardy, President
Randolph Elementary PTA

It’s been a busy day at the Skills Exchange. Lovely Sofia from the Digital Activist Inclusion Network (DAIN), popped in this morning to say hello. DAIN train up volunteers who then go out and share their IT skills with the community. If you would like to find out more, or sign up, contact Sofia scrawford@wea.org.uk

It was Breakfast Morning too, Sofia was able to give our members a quick resume of the project. Then it was down to the usual tea, toast and chat. This happens every Friday. Members volunteer to make the tea and toast, this week it was Mick and Katina, and earn Time Credits. It really is a very nice way to meet other members and forge new friendships.

It was mailout afternoon, 260 Newsletters and 220 Statements to be bunged in envelopes and sent off to all you lucky members.The full version will be available to look at on here from Monday. Thankyou to Antony, Colin, Willow and Steve who came in to help. It’s a good way to earn a couple of Time Credits and have a chat at the same time. The Newsletter has all the latest news on Skills, Exchanges needed, plays to see, coach trips to go on and events to attend. No self respecting person should be without one!

Have a good weekend

H

Part of my “death by homework week” involved me volunteering for a Haiti earthquake benefit. So I shall explain some of that and my other involvement yesterday.

A long time ago I did a dance thing for a Christmas program at the church. It was really good and awesome and even a year later, people liked it. (This is, however, the same church that annoyed me because they had one girl copy the director with the signs and then another girl copy the girl who was copying the director instead of a) making everyone learn the signs or b) have the girl who didn’t know copy me because I knew them. Oh, yeah, I stood next to her too.)

Anyway, besides the rant, I did really well on it and I always toyed with the idea of doing it again. Never had a chance however.

Then, they decided to really quick throw together a talent show/benefit for Haiti. I volunteered for it, they accepted after they disaccepted (yes, that is a word now) and so I was in it.

All in all, it went okay. I think it was rather poorly organized to be quite honest, because they didn’t ever have a practice that we just ran through and said, “OKay, this is what we do now,” even if we don’t all preform. then, also, we had too many people who needed props who should have been set up before the show. But it went well and I survived, in spite of the fact I was so tired that day, and some people liked it. We also raised $473 dollars for Haiti. (Which, to be quite honest, I’m more under the opinion of so what? I’d rather keep that money here where we need it, but oh well. The point was for me to have fun.)

Moving on.

This week I volunteered to work a booth at a culture fair. Since I know a lot about Jewish festivals, and it seemed to make sense, I volunteered to work as Israel.

Besides the fact that I didn’t get there until almost 11:30, and barely got set up in time, it was very interesting. I had my mom make some challah for part of my display, took the matzah we had left over from last year and generally made a pretty decent display with all of the holidays for tasting, minus purim because the cookies take too long to make.

Unfortunately I can’t get the picture uploaded. I’ll try to do that soon.

They didn’t warn us however that everyone from almost everywhere would be coming, and that we would have people there constantly, everything from 5th graders to older people and all inbetween. It was awesome.

I loved talking with the elementary kids, because as soon as you started telling them about things, they wanted to know more. They seemed to really like me having the props and the fact that I had food actually that was “normal”. (apples, honey, bread, ect.)

HOnestly, I was hoping that I would be able to portray more of a Messianic perspective and maybe find some people who would have liked to have joined a bible study, but there wasn’t even a chance. Next year, I’m going to have to just start talking and let it go, using a stamp ti sign people’s “passports”. It was fun though.

So, now there is nothing to look forward to besides a spring break in a week. (Yay!) and going to Sioux Falls on the 15th. And my new knitting projects. Oh, and I have to decide if I want to volunteer  at the love feast again for nursing.

Despite a few of my well known ‘horror stories’, all in all, I really love the fact that my work allows me to interact with countless devoted volunteers for all sorts of causes. In particular, I got to work with some really cool people when I was involved with the ONE Campaign, which was how I met Sherri Bui, who like me was based in the OC – we would joke about it, in fact.

I can’t remember exactly when she first joined us (those 05-08 years are pretty much one giant blur of productive and fun chaos for me at this point), but she was always game for joining in regardless of where we were set up or what we were doing (the photo above is from a hot, dirty day at the Warped Tour one year!), and was an incredibly fun, joyous person to be around. I still have several of the birthday and ‘congrats’ cards she sent me over the years, one of which, a (RED) card in fact, I see every day as it sits on the ledge right by my desk. In an age of Facebook wall posts and text messages (both which Sherri also utilized to say hello and send best wishes!) there is something incredibly thoughtful about getting a card in the mail; she was that kind of person.

I was saddened and shocked to hear about her passing yesterday – she was only 40, and unknown to me, and I suspect many others, had been in treatment for cancer for several years. Sherri was a really amazing, generous, kind, caring person – a reminder that in addition to the social wrongs we are striving to correct, being blessed with the opportunity to know and work with people like her is a big part of the reason that many of us do the work that we do. I feel lucky to have known her and to have spent time with her participating in something we were both passionate about.

Sherri on the ONE blog last year

Sherri and the ONE volunteer crew at U2 in Honolulu, Dec 2006

Sherri and Brian at Warped August 2008

Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. – Thomas Edison

I’m privileged to serve with a bunch of great individuals on the board of Launch Pad Job Club.  Each and every one of them are hardworking, caring professionals who make awesome contributions to help job seekers in our community.  One of our fellow board members is Jim Adcock, who I think has been a shining example of Edison’s “hustle while you wait” mentality during his own job hunt.  In a recent article, he addressed a very good question that gets asked a lot these days in interviews – “What have you been doing since your last job?”  Jim’s personal response involves volunteering, getting new training to keep his skills fresh, and even giving training to others. 

He writes:
I’ve participated regularly in five professional organizations, volunteered regularly at a community service organization (and was elected to its board of directors), organized a volunteer service project event (and am working on a second one), and presented two different topics at three venues.  I’ve also been trying to keep my skills fresh by attending online training and reading technical publications related to my career.

What Jim doesn’t mention that he’s doing while he “waits” for his next great job is the blog where he posted this article.  He might not tell interviewers directly about it (though he certainly could), they will find out about it if they check him out online – and, apparently, a significant number of hiring authorities check out candidates’ online presences these days.  Through his professional blog, Jim is demonstrating his subject matter expertise, as well as creating internet visibility for himself in the marketplace.  You see, Jim isn’t a journalist, a recruiter or a career coach, he’s a techie guy – an expert in something called SharePoint technology – and he devotes most of his blog topics to his subject matter expertise.  Talk about hustling while you wait!

Jim concludes his article with 2 very important questions:

• What have you been doing since your last job?
• What can you be doing right now to give yourself a great answer to that question?

I join Jim in daring you to be creative in your job search.  I dare you to hustle while you wait so you can come up with a better response than, “I’ve just been job hunting.”

___________

You’ll definitely want to tune in for our next radio show on Saturday, March 6, at 10AM CST.  Our guest is Laurel Donnellan, President of ThreeGiantLeaps and author of “Born To Do: The Practical Guide To Loving Your Work”.  She’ll join us to talk about how positive psychology and ancient wisdom can help you find work you love.  Sounds sorta mystical, doesn’t it?  I can’t wait to hear what she says!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and career coach.  She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through seminars, webinars, tele-coaching events and individualized coaching services.  Listen to them on The Job Search Boot Camp Show.  Find out more about their programs & services at www.greatoccupations.com.