Ring Those Bells for Charity!

On Dec. 10th I went to ring the bell for the Salvation Army. Thought we had already done so as a group I was unsure of what to expect while ringing by myself at a different location. I was at the I was pleasantly surprised at how many people donated and how generous they were. Also there were several people that stopped and talk to me for a little while and thank me for volunteering my time to ring the bell. It was beautiful out and the sun was shining I didn’t even get the least bit cold until the last half hour! Overall it was a good experience and it’s so easy to sign up just go to www.ringbells.org to pick a place and time.

The next day on the 11th I went back to Stoughton and volunteered ringing at the Wall mart. It was allot colder than the day before! Regardless, people were very generous and despite the weather it was a rewarding experience.   

Ringing For the Salvation Army

On Monday the 6th we traveled up to Stoughton to the Wallgreens to ring the bell for the Salvation Army. Since we all went as a group it got a little crowded in the entry way. We we're ringing the bells and joking around with the customers as they came in and out of the store. Our cheery attitudes supered on their generous donations.

Our Brush With the Titan Volunteers

We recently teamed up with the Titan Volunteers at UW Oshkosh to do some community service as a team.  We chose this route because the Titan Volunteers are a familiar group that some of us had worked with before, so we knew they had beneficial service projects for us to participate in.  We were put in charge of a table collecting food during a food drive.  The event was being held in the union.  We got to meet a lot of new people and were able to hand out fliers advertising our blog at the same time.  Many of the people did not bring a food item we talked to, but we were able to convince them to go home and come back with a food item.

Exercise for good Causes

There are many road races held every year for charity and awareness causes.  From the bigger, well known runs such as Race for the Cure, to small town events run for scholarship funds, there are a great deal of opportunities to both volunteer and participate.  These events are great for many reasons.  They promote general health, provide goals for people to attain, and provide a highly visual event for spreading community awareness to a cause.  The events themselves raise money through sign-up fees and donations.  Usually there are sponsors that provide after race refreshments and they increase turnout and donations.  I chose to run a number of races including the Bare it all for Charity race in Madison, WI, and the Kenosha Turkey Day Trot to name a few.  The bare it all for Charity event involves wearing a number of clothes to the race, and before beginning, taking it off and donating it.  It is a sort of hybrid race/clothing drive.  I also volunteered to a number of races and a food drive at the food pantry in my home town.

Kenzie Helps Out at a Janesville Blood Drive for the Red Cross.

 

On Monday, November 15^th I volunteered with the American Red Cross at a blood drive.  The blood drive lasted from 10-3, and was held at the Red Cross in Janesville.  For the majority of the day I was helping people from their beds after they donated and serving drinks and food.  I also had to transport the bags of blood to different tables after it was donated.  This experience was extremely rewarding because I learned more about how much certain blood types are needed.  It was also rewarding because I got to donate myself, and it made me feel like I was contributing more.

If Kenzie's experience inspired you to get involved, check out the Southern Central Chapter of the American Red  Cross at http://www.scwiredcross.org/ to find out how to help. Volunteers are always needed!  

Amanda Helps Out at the Rock County Humane Society

One of the ways Amanda chose to serve the community throughout the semester was volunteering her time at the Rock County Humane Society. During her service she performed a variety of tasks ranging from the care of adoptable dogs or even simply helping the staff provide a clean and enriching environment for the animals. Amanda also lent her services to the ‘Bake for a Cause’ program at the Humane Society by baking homemade goodies to support the RCHS at bake sales held during many of their events. You too can lend a helping hand! Just contact your local Humane Society or check them out at http://www.wihumane.org/ 

Remember There are Opportunities to Help Out Wherever You Go!

In October of 2010 I journey out to the wild wild west of Wyoming for multiple purposes, those being to have fun but also to give back to Mother Nature who has given me so much.  Our journey took us to a group of donkeys living in the hills in Eastern Wyoming.  These donkeys are the offspring of donkeys that use to be used for commercial use back in the 1850s but were subsequently released or escaped once better uses of transportation came to be.

Some of the donkeys were in dire condition; one named Felicity had contracted pneumonia, and was very near to death when we found her.  Others had open sores with maggots inside, and flies buzzing around them.  During my 3 day stay there, I helped nourish these donkeys, mostly be feeding them granola or apples, but also by helping the staff with the well being and medical nourishment in any way possible.