Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Week 11 - Real World Volunteering

This week I want you to watch the Ted Talks videos from the O'Neil Sisters, Dyan deNapoli & Mark Bezos. Their talks will leave you with some inspiration and food for thought. Share your reactions this week. No formal question - just your thoughts!

I know for me the following words stick with me after watching: Passion. Don't Wait. Grab the Shoes. Penguin by Penguin.


14 comments:

  1. 1. Mark Bezos- Every day may not offer you the chance to save a life, but it will offer you that chance to effect one. So mentor, volunteer, coach etc.

    2. O'Neil Sisters- Decided that their community needed them after a major disaster. They learned on the job and are now coaching others.

    3. Dyan DiNapoli- Even penguins learn from their mistakes. I also liked that you never know who will be critical in helping after a disaster. The 17 year old who created a degreaser was inspiring.

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  2. I was really inspired by the O'Neil sisters, and how they faced such a terrible event in their community with determination and volunteerism was shown at its finest. I really appreciated what they said about the citizens in a community being the true experts, and to not rely on others who will eventually have to leave the community to go to another natural disaster. They were true examples of volunteerism, and I was very impressed with how they handled everything when it was such a stressful, chaotic time for their community. That is a sign of a great leader! I agree with Jennifer, when she commented about the firefighter's advice about impacting someone's life on a daily basis. I also liked when he said that we shouldn't wait for a major life changing event to occur to help, but in the little moments as well. Great videos!

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  3. I thought the O’Neal sisters identified a great need in the world of volunteerism, the NEED TO TAKE THE LEAD. It is so amazing to see how many are will to freely give of their time, skills, means, and money yet on the other hand it’s amazing to see how many are hesitant to take charge. I don’t know if it’s because we typically train volunteer to take orders, or if we hesitate because we don’t know what to do, or if were fearful of being the one responsible if something goes wrong. I thought the O’Neal sister set a great example of volunteers stepping up and taking change.
    I also thought Mark’s example of getting beat to the fire by Lex Luther was another get example of not checking out when we think all is done. Often when volunteering I find some who take a back seat because they think the Lex Luther’s are “taking care of it”. When in reality there’s tons of needful work to be performed, but we need to stick it out, be observant, and willing to help wherever we’re needed.

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  4. I think Dyan and the O’Neil sisters both have amazing stories of how they successfully recruited volunteer help that chanced lives. The major themes I got from their videos were
    1. Passion- these women were so passionate about their cause that they sacrificed so much time, even their scholarly pursuits, and experienced some very stressful situations just to make it all happen.
    2. Awareness of challenges and limitations through direct contact and personal experience
    3. Taking the initiative to meet specific needs, and at a preparedness level through creating tools that are quick and easy to access, and providing training.
    They are very inspiring stories, and we can all learn a lot from them.

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  5. The thing that stood out to me the most was from The O'Neil Sisters. They basically said they didn't know what they were doing but faked it and accomplished a lot. We all have developed skills and gained knowledge that we use in our daily life to do our jobs, raise our families, or to have fun. But that can be applied in other situations. You may have learned to inventory the food in your house so you know what you need to get at the store but that inventorying skill can be used in disaster relief like the sisters talked about or it could be used to help a battered women's shelter know when they are low on diapers. My point is we aren't experts in most things but we can apply knowledge we have gained to help in many more areas than we think. And as we do it we will learn, like Dyan deNapoli did, that we are capable of so much more that we ever thought possible.

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  6. I love the Ted Talk by Mark Bezos. I think people do notice the simple things that volunteers do for them. While the woman must have been overjoyed to have her dog safe she must have felt comfort in having some shoes to protect her feet from the midnight storm. All acts of service matter. Don’t wait! I second Bezos encouragement for all of us to give now! We can all make a difference, so don’t wait until tomorrow.

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  7. Out of all of the Ted Talks I have to say Mark Bezos was my favorite. I was not expecting the twist to his story. I think that it is important for our students to learn that even the smallest action can mean the most. I am going to use this Ted Talk in my classes to help them come up with a service learning project that we can do as a class that ties into the curriculum.

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  8. It was great to hear stories from these people who were all put into different situations, and all stepped up to make things happen. Something that really stood out was Dyan said that she was amazed at all the volunteers that came, because none of them had to be there-but they all were because they chose to. This stood out to me because it is such a great way to look at our volunteers-they are all choosing to be a volunteer-none of the have to be there, but they are choosing to-so it's important to make sure they are utilized so that their time and effort can best be spent-and to remember that even small things can be rewarding and beneficial!
    Emily Shepperd

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  9. All three talks were very interesting. The O’Neil sisters was very interesting about the tornadoes, the technology that was implemented because of their efforts was commendable. The penguin video was awesome. From my scientific background the results from the volunteer’s efforts was incredible. They saved a species of penguin that could very well have become extinct from the oil spill. That fire fighters talk was neat, ever little bit helps. Even as a volunteer if you aren’t the first one on the scene, or you feel your efforts aren’t extravagant, your work is still important.

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  10. Thanks for all the great comments. Glad to see that there are some inspiring stories out there.

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  11. Some thing I noticed about the first video was that two girls who did not look like they would know what they were talking about were the best people for the job. I feel that when people get into a situation that they need to help themselves or their community it makes the best ideas come out. They then used their experience to help others. When they had an infrastructure in place, like with the penguins, the volunteers were better able to help although it as a little overwhelming to the organizing organization. As a result a good strategy came from someone and penguins were saved. The last talk from the fire fighter really hit home because I have seen the small things get taken care of and it meant the world to the person receiving the service. Everything is important and we should try to remember that when volunteering.

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  12. All three stories were great! Like the rest of you, the O'Neill sisters made me think about what I might be able to contribute in a disaster situation--maybe something as basic as using a camp chef to bottle the meat in the freezer that no longer had electricity! I know I don't think well in a crisis, so, like the O'Neills are doing now, thinking through things ahead of time--communities getting an infrastructure in place--is the best response to a crisis. The penguin story was awesome--normal people using their skills--and taking a chance on ideas that had never been tried. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. The Mark Bezos story I think has the best "moral to the story": Go out and do something, not for the glory, but because it's good to be a helper. It's rare to find out, as he did, that something little we've done has made a difference, but it's still good to just help.

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  13. My take-aways from each story....
    1. The O'Neill sisters - don't be afraid to step up and take the lead if you see the need. Even if you do not have experience with a project, step up, do what you can, and learn as you go.
    2. Dylan's penguins - don't discount help, regardless of age, disability, time constraints, etc. You never know who is going to come up with the next important breakthrough, and if you don't give people the opportunity to participate you are limiting the possibilities.
    3. Mark Bezos - no effort is too small. Regardless of how small you think a task may be, you don't know who, what, or how it will affect someone.

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  14. What neat videos! I love these type of stories to help motivate me to do more than just be an onlooker. I especially loved the video of the O'Neill sisters. Their story proved that ordinary, every day people can make a huge difference. A basic understanding of people's needs and a desire to help is all it took to take them where they needed to go.

    Dyan's story was fun to read because it showed how much people coming together can do. Going into a volunteer program can be overwhelming at the beginning when you're not sure how the whole project is going to go over. When people come together and work toward a common goal, it's amazing what can be done!

    I loved the short, but compelling Mark Bezos video. I loved when he said, "if you have something to give, give it now", as well as "not every day is going to offer us the chance to save someone's life, but every day offers us an opportunity to effect one." Those two quotes have really resonated with me as a teacher as well as a mentor. It doesn't matter how big or small the effort is, or how many people it is effecting-it's worth it even if you're helping only one individual.

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