With 'Extreme Makeover' gone, now what?
The celebrity carpenters are gone, but Bay Area Habitat for Humanity is still hard at work, and so i
Wow! When the Extreme Home Makeover Team rolled into Kemah on January 7, this community came together in such an amazing and inspiring way. I know of at least a dozen people who used their personal vacation time just to help out a deserving family. On the Blu Shields Extreme Facebook fan page, many people have mentioned what a life changing experience it was and some have even mentioned withdrawal symptoms. I know that I speak for the entire community when I say that I wish the Beach Family all the best in their new home!
Volunteering is just a win win situation for all involved. Who doesn't have their spirits bouyed after spending time helping others? In fact, Disney World has made the theme of the year, "Give a Day and Get a Disney Day." By logging on to www.Disneyparks.com you can sign up to volunteer at an approved agency and in return, Disney will give you a free day at one of it's theme parks. I checked out the site and it looks pretty easy to navigate. You enter you zip code and they will give you some approved opportunities in your area. Be forewarned though, I did not find a lot of opportunities for children under the age of 12.
One of the organizations I found that welcomes families volunteering together is the Special Olympics. www.sotx.org There are two types of volunteers, Class A and Class B. Class A is more of a long term opportunity which provides a chance to work closely with the atheletes. Class B volunteers assist with a competion or event and is more of a short term opportunity. As I mentioned before, this is an opportunity for families to work together, as kids under the age of 14 are welcome as long as a parent is also volunteering.
For those who are looking for a house to build now that Ty and Gang have moved on to another lucky family, I found two opportunities. www.bahfh.org is the website for Habitat for Humanity. At this organization, individuals or groups work to build a home for a family in need. All volunteers on the construction site must be 16 or older, but there are other non-construction opportunities as well. If you are looking to help a family who was affected by Ike, check out www.onemissiongalveston.org. This organization is dedicated to rebuilding Galveston and surrounding areas.
Log on to www.volunteermatch.org to find dozens of more opportunities in the surrounding areas.
If you read my previous blog on goals for the new year, you know I don't do resolutions, I do goals. Getting my elementary age kids involved in a volunteer activity is one of the goals I set this year. Hopefully it is one I can keep and even blog about. Stay tuned, and feel free to remind me if you don't see a family volunteer blog up by June.
