I was driving home, feeling a bit smug. I’d just purchased Valentines for people special to me – and I had days to spare before mailing them. The news started with several stories about charitable causes: a recent local adoption, churches collecting items for Haitians, Katrina successes.
Earlier in the week the US Bureau of Labor Statistics had reported 26.8% of our population over 16 years old gave unpaid time through or for an organization. The median amount of time given was an hour each week.
Compare that to 75% of Americans contribute to charity, giving about 3% of their income annually, according to givingisgood.com. A national United Way spokesperson said the average family contributes $250/yr.
The Labor Bureau’s survey indicated the main recipients of volunteer time are social and community service organizations. Statistics indicated the most likely person to volunteer was (drum roll, please) a married, college-educated woman in her 30s or40s, with children, and employed.
Why a drum roll? As a member of Soroptimist International of Topeka (SITK), I’m interested in finding women interested in community service projects to improve the lives of women and girls in our community and throughout the world. SITK has been serving our community since 1931. Visit us on Facebook to see what we’ve been up to and how much fun we have. You’ll want to join us.
The United Way spokesperson had commented that he’d like to change ‘give until it hurts’ to ‘give until it feels good.’ Another person put a more positive spin on the idea, ‘invest your time and energy until you feel good.’ Or the aged verse from I Corinthians: “And now stays faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
Monday, February 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Health Plan - Have Friends!
Women have valued friendship for years. Thanks to a 10-year study in Australia we know that friendships predict longevity better than close family ties and boost our health.
In a nutshell, they identified ‘types’ of friendships: a childhood friend, a new friend, a workout friend, a spiritual friend, a younger friend, a partner’s friends, your mom, yourself. [For more information about the study, check the current issue of ‘Prevention.’]
Only a few of you can claim to be my childhood friend since I lived in a town with less than 600 people until I was 12. Maybe because of that background and secure environment, I wasn’t afraid to talk to people, find a common interests, and make friends.
As a mother my interests and time were limited to work, immediate family, and school for a few years. Believe me there were times this genuinely frustrated me. I craved the contact with other adults and different perspectives on events, fashion, or just the world in general.
Just about a year ago I visited a women’s service organization here in Topeka. While the women in the group have varied social, professional, and educational backgrounds, we have a common thread of interest in working to improve the lives of girls and women. I have gained friends of various levels of interest by joining them.
Working on our service projects, I have come to know more layers of another mother. We have been acquainted for at least six years, but because we’ve discussed different aspects of Soroptimist service projects I learned we are both concerned about some of the same issues. I think we found a bond besides our children.
Because of Soroptimist I also gained some younger friends – outside of moms from where my kids go to school and away from the office. It’s valuable to get the perspective of a younger woman (whom you’re not related to) when you want an honest opinion on how you look or need advice on working your iPod (when the kids have told you until they no longer have patience), or how to let your phone complete the text instead of typing individual letters! That alone lowered my blood pressure.
This time of year many of us make resolutions to improve our lives. If your resolution is to improve your health, the most fun way I can think of is to make more friends. I’ll introduce you to some of mine at a Soroptimist meeting!
In a nutshell, they identified ‘types’ of friendships: a childhood friend, a new friend, a workout friend, a spiritual friend, a younger friend, a partner’s friends, your mom, yourself. [For more information about the study, check the current issue of ‘Prevention.’]
Only a few of you can claim to be my childhood friend since I lived in a town with less than 600 people until I was 12. Maybe because of that background and secure environment, I wasn’t afraid to talk to people, find a common interests, and make friends.
As a mother my interests and time were limited to work, immediate family, and school for a few years. Believe me there were times this genuinely frustrated me. I craved the contact with other adults and different perspectives on events, fashion, or just the world in general.
Just about a year ago I visited a women’s service organization here in Topeka. While the women in the group have varied social, professional, and educational backgrounds, we have a common thread of interest in working to improve the lives of girls and women. I have gained friends of various levels of interest by joining them.
Working on our service projects, I have come to know more layers of another mother. We have been acquainted for at least six years, but because we’ve discussed different aspects of Soroptimist service projects I learned we are both concerned about some of the same issues. I think we found a bond besides our children.
Because of Soroptimist I also gained some younger friends – outside of moms from where my kids go to school and away from the office. It’s valuable to get the perspective of a younger woman (whom you’re not related to) when you want an honest opinion on how you look or need advice on working your iPod (when the kids have told you until they no longer have patience), or how to let your phone complete the text instead of typing individual letters! That alone lowered my blood pressure.
This time of year many of us make resolutions to improve our lives. If your resolution is to improve your health, the most fun way I can think of is to make more friends. I’ll introduce you to some of mine at a Soroptimist meeting!
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