It’s about connecting

Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in an impromptu service project taking place at the Boston Memorial Run in Raleigh. I’d gathered some friends a few days before to whip up a website and gather paper, markers, and other supplies, and the project – “Triangle Loves Boston” – was born. It consisted of asking people to create a message of love and support for folks in Boston recently...

Practice in Vulnerability

There has been a long gap in posts on this blog, partially because during the Fall of 2011 I was utterly overwhelmed wrapping up my final semester of the Masters in Public Administration / Nonprofit Management program. The other reason, however, was that I felt like I had nothing to say. When you’re so busy, wrapped up in task after task with something to be done every moment, you become like a machine. You...

Playlist Memories: Joliet Jaycees, Illinois, 2004

Music has been the theme of my last few posts. I haven’t begun to scratch the surface on how music has played a role in my life or nonprofit-y dreams, so I’ll continue on this train of thought. Most of my close friends know I have a very strange and eclectic music collection. I’m just as likely to hear Handel as I am Muse if I venture a random song selection. Today my randomization led me to Save a...

On (the) Eve: A tribute to a stranger who made an impact

Tomorrow is the 3-year anniversary of the death of Eve Carson, UNC Student Body President who was murdered on March 5, 2008. I wrote on this topic on a previous blog, but my increasing feelings of connectivity to a ‘community of do-gooders’ I keep referencing compels me to post this again, and now, on the eve of Eve’s death. I had never met Eve, nor heard about her before she was killed. But some...

Random Acts of Kindness Week and Developing a “Kindness Instinct”

When our Nonprofit Management professor asked if any one had any nonprofit news to share last week, I informed my classmates that February 14 – 20 was the annual Random Acts of Kindness Week in the hopes of getting my peers’ do-gooder inspirational juices flowing. “Random acts of kindness just this week?” Our professor cheekily replied, and I smirked. No, I explained, Acts of Kindness —...