Tag Archives: volunteer

Don’t Be a Rat, Unpack!

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. Today is National Pack Rat Day and like pack rats, some of us tend to collect more belongings than we really need. Here at Heifer International we encourage people to practice Sharing and Caring, one of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development. If you’ve got some things to unpack, here are a few options to lighten your load.

Pack Rat

Photo credit: oddlovescompany.com

  1. Hold a Clothing Swap
    Donating old clothing is helpful, but a swap can make a more direct impact in your neighborhood or organization. Ask participants to bring a few articles of clothing and then have fun haggling over the trades. A swap can also be done with shoes, toys and books.
  2. Upcycle With Style
    Old T-shirts for quilt squares, abandoned toys as planters and plastic grocery bags to make trash cans-Pinterest is filled with DIY instructions. Inventive minds are a powerful tool in caring for the earth. Before you recycle, try to find ways to upcycle the weary and worn things in your cluttered closets.
  3. Give Your Time
    If you have a “load” of time on your hands, why not use it to help others organize their abundant belongings? Or, use it in other meaningful ways like taking a meal to new parents, offering to walk your elderly neighbor’s dog or care for the Earth by picking up trash.

Through cooperation and friendship, there are many ways to share and care. Be creative and get involved in your community. Small acts of kindness will spread, building a large network of giving to Pass on the Gift® of hope, unity and friendship.

Learn how you can spend meaningful time at Heifer

 

We Are The Heifer Ranch Volunteers

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Editor’s Note: The following post was written by Heifer Ranch volunteers. Stay tuned in 2013 for our upcoming Heifer Blog series, Volunteer Voices.

More than ever, it is often difficult to feel hopeful about the future – especially when one billion people live in urban slums, and nearly 870 million chronically hungry. Sometimes, it seems that our worries focus more on making money and the status of our economy rather than the plight of those less fortunate than we are. Yet, if we take a moment to slow down, there are people all around us dedicating their time and heart to local, national, and international causes that do make the world a better place. A bell is often ringing outside our supermarkets for the Salvation Army, your barista may mentor refugee children in return for a smile, and on cold winter nights food finds its way into the hands of those who do not have a home to come back to.

Here on the Heifer Ranch there are volunteers from all around the world who come and live on the ranch full-time. We work in the CSA garden, raise and care for livestock, work with school groups, and simply maintain the ranch as a whole.

Heifer Ranch volunteers

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

But why do we volunteer? Why do people give so much of their time and effort and receive nothing in return? Often volunteering is a learning experience. Many of us had never been on a ranch before, knew nothing about raising livestock, sustainable agriculture, or issues relating to hunger and poverty, yet by being here and pushing ourselves, we have grown. Those that had never touched a sheep in person are now trimming their hooves. We know how to water a garden using a treadle pump after growing up having to just turn a faucet to receive this precious liquid. We have learned how to absorb the staggering statistics revolving around hunger and poverty and then convey this to students in a way that impacts and empowers them to act. And, we have all found ourselves acquiring mountains of crafty knowledge we had never envisioned prior to our arrival. Yet we also learn about who we are, about what we hold dear to ourselves, and what we want in the future.

From this, it may seem that volunteering is a personal activity, one that we do to learn or make ourselves happy. And though this may play a role in us being motivated to volunteer, this is normally not the reason one chooses to volunteer. There are many ways we can learn and gain experience while at the same time receiving something in return, like a job. And yes we often do find joy in the act of volunteering, but this seems to be an unavoidable side affect of performing a selfless act that helps aid others in need. Despite this, happiness is not the motivation of volunteers, because there are many other ways we could be spending our time that would load us full of such hedonistic feelings.

What brings us to volunteer is passion. We find ourselves captivated by so many different things, and for each person our drive is focused differently. Through volunteering we are able to translate our passion into a positive force. Those that are transfixed by the plight of the homeless in their community spend time at food banks and kitchens for the homeless. Those who dream of a food system where we can all thrive and be healthy spend time in community gardens. And those who are captivated by the struggle of those less fortunate in all corners of the Earth volunteer for organizations like Heifer, providing a hand up to those who see no help in sight.

Volunteering is a crucial action. It is one that humbles us, allows us to push past the individualism which often holds us back, gives to those who cannot give, and creates a loving community from which we all can thrive.

It is not that we all become full time residential volunteers, but that we can find the time to volunteer in some capacity. For no matter how small or how little time we have to give we make a difference. We fill a belly, bring about a smile, and empower someone who has never felt powerful.

Volunteers strive to reach that better world and motivate others to take time out of a busy schedule to perform a selfless deed and create a beautiful place to live. We have hope, hope in future where far more people perform work, thinking of someone other than themselves, hope for a better world. And as we write, we have faith that hope will become realize. More people are volunteering and, as on the sign one sees departing the Heifer Ranch, more people “go in peace.”

Heifer Ranch sign.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Learn more about the Heifer Ranch, or find out how to become a Heifer Ranch volunteer!

Volunteering for Heifer Through the Years

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Editor’s note: Today is International Volunteer Day 2012. This year’s theme is “Celebrate Volunteering!” Heifer International is supported by many volunteers, in both developed and developing countries. Today we share accounts from some of those volunteers. The following post is by Nancy Handke, a Heifer community volunteer in Clarendon Hills, Illinois.

Volunteers Welcome

Photo by sj-white. Used under Creative Commons license.

I first became aware of Heifer in the late 50s when my church elected me to be the Heifer representative. When the Chicago office opened, I became a volunteer mainly doing mailings. Soon I began volunteering in the office one or two days a week doing odd jobs plus setting up the computer database. Audrey Veath also was volunteering the same day, and we became dear friends. She suggested we have a quilt auction for Heifer International. Together we chaired the auction, which was held every three years. It became the major fundraiser for the Chicago office.

My church got a new rector, who one day asked me if I thought we could put on something like a Living Gift Market for our community. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! And thus in 2007, the Family Farm Fest was born. We are a small congregation, but have become a dedicated Heifer church where everyone volunteers for Family Farm Fest. The event is held in our church parking lot the first Saturday of August every year. We have 10 animal booths, each of which has a “hands on” craft project for children and a Heifer volunteer who explains how the animal is used to improve the lives of the Heifer recipients. There are games, food, cake walks, and of course live animals. The llamas and alpacas are a huge hit as they walk around the grounds. In 2011 we even had a camel. We begin working on the Fest in January. A big part of our focus is spreading the word about Heifer. Starting in May we go to all the local and surrounding communities and have booths in their fairs, street dances, Daisy Days, etc. where we handout Heifer material along with a flyer about Family Farm Fest. We attract up to 1,000 + at the Fest and have been very lucky in raising Gift Arks for Heifer.

This past August we had a simulated Passing on the Gift ceremony with a script written by two Heifer volunteers. We also invited the Church of the Brethren, Union Church and a Muslim congregation to join with us, and “man” a booth to make our festival more ecumenical and inclusive of the community. The day after the Family Farm Fest, we had big celebration service in church, where there wasn’t a dry eye while everyone rejoiced in the accomplishment of raising Gift Arks for Heifer.

Heifer International is so very dear to my heart. It is the only charity where, in all my 81 years, I have volunteered where I know the money goes where it does the most good and keeps on giving. It is not a one shot deal like so many other charities are. Another benefit I treasure is the many wonderful friends I have made. Heifer volunteers are the best!

Become a Heifer Volunteer.

The Spirit of Volunteerism

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Editor’s note: Today is International Volunteer Day 2012. This year’s theme is “Celebrate Volunteering!” Heifer International is supported by many volunteers, in both developed and developing countries. Today we share accounts from some of those volunteers. The following post is by Richard Ims, residential volunteer at Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas.

Heifer Ranch volunteer Richard milking goat

Richard Ims milks a goat at Heifer Ranch. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full.
But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.

– G. Donald Gale

Research has documented the benefits of volunteering. Health seems to improve both physically and mentally for those who give of themselves for others. But this is not our motivation. It is only a glancing consequence to truly getting behind something we believe in. We’d do it regardless of any quid pro quo perk.

It is a calling.

The very definition of volunteering is a service-act of one’s own freewill…..without compensation. This lack of compensation, at the heart of it, should include any “warm-fuzzy” we might be addicted to as amelioration for our “good” actions. This is the yardstick we use to help critique our own motivation in aiding others. How does this make me feel?  A legitimate question, yes…..but not the compelling factor. We can and should certainly feel fulfilled as a human being when we are able to help relieve another’s plight. This is why we exist. This is why we were created. But the yearning of compassion relentlessly tugs.

Love cannot remain by itself — it has no meaning.
Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.

– Mother Teresa

Therefore, always take the stance of humility and be ready to have your own plight relieved by another….and accept it graciously. To be fully human is in part, to know how to pass on AND receive the gift when freely given. The whole and mature volunteer knows and lives this principle comfortably.

Now allow me to also ponder the agricultural definition of a volunteer [read: a plant which springs up from its own seed]:  “Growing, without being intentionally seeded by hand.”

We volunteers, miraculously grow more deeply without the expectation of constantly being re-seeded by any profit motivation. We just give, as we have been given already from the start, better off for not fully knowing our impact:

It is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;he goes to bed at night and gets up by day,and the seed sprouts up and grows– how, he himself does not know.

– Mark 4:27

We need focus outside our own selves. The lack of this outward focus has been one of the deadliest downfalls of our recent societal trend: Individualism and the stubborn, immature and selfish stance of “me.”

In many ways, WHAT volunteering effort we get behind almost doesn’t matter. It is THAT we get behind something other than ourselves and our own agendas, which makes the difference:

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work,
but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

– Antoine de Saint Exupery

My wife and I have been full-time volunteers for the past 12 years. We’ve had to sacrifice a lot to do this, but no thing greater than our own agendas and ideas of success. Much of our inspiration has come from other volunteers, especially the young voices and activists who have more of a global perspective than we ever did at their ages. It gives us great hope and great pride in the human endeavor.

Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means.

– Leo Buscaglia

Richard's wife, Jina, volunteering in Kitchen at Heifer Ranch

Richard's wife, Jina, volunteering in the kitchen at Heifer Ranch. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Of course, most are not called to full-time volunteering. There are so many important family responsibilities that trump this lifestyle. But the care we give our own family members is also a call in the spirit of volunteerism and “going beyond the call of duty,” which nurtures and manifests that same spirit in our future generations through leading by example.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

– Aesop

So serve in the situation and opportunity your creator has given you already. Then be open and vigilant to the opportunities that pervade your own community. In this way we may gracefully expand into the void that begs to be filled by love and care and then without fail, the act exponentially multiplies and causes a ripple effect.

How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment: we can start now, start slowly changing the world! How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make a contribution toward introducing justice straight away.

– Anne Frank

It is pure pleasure to know that we work with fellow volunteers and in our own way, foster greater Love, Peace and Joy in the human spirit; to encourage and be encouraged. Remain steadfast and please don’t let the task-oriented, hard-wiring of our society make you forget why you do what you do. Volunteering is way beyond a job, so don’t make it one. Take the time to smell the roses you are planting through your positive energy and desire to serve. In this way, we journey together to one day become more fully human.

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
Those among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.

– Dr. Albert Schweitzer

Become a Heifer Volunteer.

Heifer Volunteers, We Thank You

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Editor’s note: Today is International Volunteer Day 2012. This year’s theme is “Celebrate Volunteering!” Heifer International is supported by many volunteers, in both developed and developing countries. Today we share accounts from our volunteers and staff. The following post is by Kate Merrill, Heifer’s Atlanta Community Engagement Coordinator.

I’m often asked by my colleagues in other charities how Heifer is able to maintain over 80 percent of its revenue from contributions, even in the hardest of economic times, and continue to build upon the 18.5 million families around the world Heifer has helped. I tell them that it’s simple – we have an amazingly diverse and widespread grassroots network of helpers. People who feel a deep connection to our work are embedded in communities across the U.S., sharing Heifer in their congregations, schools, civic organizations, at local fairs and festivals and even dropping Heifer Gift Catalogs in doctor’s offices and airplane seat pockets. They are young and old, of every background and race, and individual powerhouses of energy and enthusiasm for sharing our work. They keep our mission alive at the local level so we can train, educate and empower impoverished communities on a global level.

Early Heifer Volunteers

Early Heifer Volunteers: the Seagoing Cowboys. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

The first Heifer volunteers stood up in Dan West’s church in 1944 and offered cows to struggling families in Puerto Rico. Then young male volunteers, called “Seagoing Cowboys,” transported our animals on ships to our first projects around the world. And while our volunteers no longer need a farming background to contribute, they have the same heart for helping the poor help themselves through a passion for sharing our mission.

The line distinguishing a donor from a volunteer at Heifer is nonexistent. Anyone who gives a gift of an animal to another person is passing on our mission to another person. We are all advocates for Heifer’s work each time we share with others how the simple gift of an animal can be the difference between hunger and self-reliance for a family in need.

Young volunteer.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Many of the staff at Heifer were once volunteers themselves, and many who have moved on from Heifer still are! Heifer’s mission lives inside of us for a lifetime, bringing out the best in us as we work together to create a more just and sustainable world.

Volunteering for Heifer feels good because helping others feels good. People flock to you to tell you their story about how they’ve supported Heifer, why they love the mission and what their favorite animal to give is. Like-minded people engage you in conversations about feeding the world’s poor. People thank you for sharing Heifer with them! Atlanta volunteers, Ernie Scott and Polly Holder, tell me how much it inspires them when they give a presentation or staff a booth and are surrounded by an instant community of people eager to help others. Ernie says, “It reminds me that I’m not alone.”

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

It is easy to get overwhelmed by the problems in our world and feel that as an individual, there is little to be done to enact positive change. I’m reminded of something Fred Rogers said: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” No matter how disparaging things might be, we hold an incredible power to inspire and empower others through our actions. For each animal Heifer gives, there is an average of six pass-ons through Passing on the Gift. The same rings true for sharing Heifer’s work. Pass on to others why you support Heifer, and watch it grow. Being a helper is one of the easiest, most personally fulfilling ways to make a difference in the world.

Volunteer group.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

On this International Volunteer Day, we thank you – our endlessly hopeful, dedicated Heifer Helpers – for making Heifer’s work possible through every gift you give, booth you staff, presentation you do, and conversation you have that moves us one step closer to ending hunger and poverty. Thank you for sharing Heifer in your sphere of influence and giving the gift of hope to families all over the world.

Become a Heifer Volunteer.

International Volunteer Day 2012: Celebrate Volunteering!

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Editor’s note: Today is International Volunteer Day 2012. This year’s theme is “Celebrate Volunteering!” Heifer International is supported by many volunteers, in both developed and developing countries. Today we will share accounts from some of those volunteers. The first is a testimony by Suzanne Awalt, a Heifer community volunteer in Rocklin, California.

Volunteer Day logo

Being a Heifer volunteer enriches my life in many ways. I am a more conscientious global citizen and neighbor, a more savvy donor to any and all charitable organizations, a more sensitive Earth steward. I feel culturally and spiritually connected to other peoples of the world and more in-touch with my own role in living justly and sustainably. It is a joy and a privilege to be part of a significant socioeconomic movement that improves the lives of others. Likewise, it is brings me pleasure to be able to share with individuals and groups the efficacy of Heifer’s long-tested method of empowering families and communities. I have learned a great deal and am able to interact on a regular basis with intelligent, passionate and engaged people who share a vision of a world where all citizens participate in the benefits of living on our beautiful planet. I am grateful each day for the presence of Heifer in my life.

Learn how you can Become a Heifer Volunteer.

Heifer Around the Web: Garbage-Men Care For the Earth with Eco-Friendly Music

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Every Sunday we will highlight some of the people who are funding our work creatively or helping us spread the word of our mission online. If you spot Heifer International while you’re surfing the web or know of a fun or creative fundraising effort, please share it with us here in the comments.

This is one of the most interesting stories I’ve come across lately. The Garbage-Men, a fun eco-friendly band of teenagers from Sarasota, Florida, make music using instruments made from recycled materials: guitars from boxes, a horn from pipes, and a keyboard from old bottles. Not only are they eco-friendy and care for the Earth, they give 100 percent of the money from one of their CDs, as well as money from merchandise, to Heifer. Read all about The Garbage Men on Time for Kids and their own website, thegarbagemen.com.

Garbage-Men play instruments from recycled objects

Teen band The Garbage-Men perform: (left to right) Jack Berry, Ollie Gray, Harrison Paparatto, Austin Siegel and Evan Tucker. Photo by Robin Rosen, www.timeforkids.com.

Basketball game for Heifer

Faculty and staff play students in a basketball game that benefits Heifer International. Photo credit: www.wabi.tv

Further north in Maine, the International Club at Eastern Maine Community College put together a basketball game with teams made up of students vs. coaches and faculty – entertaining for all. All the proceeds went to Heifer International. Watch some video taken by the local news here.

You’ll want to keep an eye on this group of adventures, the Arkansas Chuggabuggs. They are taking part in the grueling Mongol Rally, a 10,000 kilometer, six-week adventure across Eurasia in a second-hand car. They’ve selected Heifer  International as their team’s charity, and we can’t wait to hear more about their adventure!

Teen volunteer Kara Shen, of Central Bucks East, was honored at the 2012 Bucks County Teen Volunteer of the Year awards ceremony along with about a dozen other teens. Her work includes volunteering at Doylestown Hospital, teaching English to a class at a rural elementary school in Taiwan, serving as a peer tutor and participating in various service initiatives through Heifer International and the Key Club. Congratulations Kara!

Turkey at Heifer Ranch

A turkey walking the grounds at Heifer Ranch. Photo Credit: Flour Sack Mama

Flour Sack Mama (read the about section to find out the reason for the interesting name) blogger and her family visited Heifer Ranch. She wrote about their experiences and the Ranch itself every day this past week, well worth the read.

Nchimunya Muganya writes an opinion piece for the Times of Zambia on the positives of goat farming, and gives Heifer a mention about our willingness to set up a goat processing plan to enhance processing technology and value addition in the sector.

 

Spring Into Action: Why Heifer Volunteers Love Volunteering

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Editor’s note: This week’s series about volunteering is to spotlight the Spring into Action events on March 24th hosted by Heifer International. Read why these volunteers have dedicated their time in helping share Heifer’s mission of ending hunger and poverty while caring for the earth.

By Sandi Watson, Heifer Volunteer

Why I first volunteered

Heifer immediately made sense to me. Train people, give them animals, ask them to share – soon families are self-reliant and able to help others. Sustainable transformation?  Sign me up.

Why I still volunteer

All the people I’ve met through Heifer amaze me. Teachers, grade school kids, high school and college students, moms, dads, senior citizens, pastors, Sunday School teachers, my fellow volunteers, Heifer staff, farmers in Peru – you can’t measure the energy, time, creativity, and compassion that all these people put into helping others.

I once visited a small church in Bradford that raised $1,600 for Heifer-Haiti by hosting five spaghetti dinners. Imagine this:  A small group of women willing to shop for the ingredients, cook dinner for 100 people, and then wash giant pots and pans late into the evening after each meal, all to help people they’ll never meet.

When I asked second grade students in East Gloucester why they raised money for Heifer, one kid said:    “So people won’t be depressed. We want them to be happy.”  A second grader!  He blew my mind.

A college student in Lynnfield had a dying Ford Taurus. He could have junked the car and kept the money – money any college student could use, for sure – but instead he decided to hold a Car Smash and donate the proceeds to Heifer. Who does that?  A young man who grew up in a congregation dedicated to Heifer.  A young man who wants to make a difference.

On a Heifer-Peru study tour, we witnessed a Passing on the Gift ceremony in Acopía. In the months before that day, farmers had walked long miles to train other farmers, to share lessons in animal care techniques, organic farming, community development, and more.  On the day of the ceremony, each family brought six sheep to give away. Six sheep!  We were surrounded by confetti, music, sheep, and smiling people. You could see the joy and dignity of Heifer in that day.

The bonus

I like my job as an editor but it doesn’t make my heart beat faster.

Heiferizing does. Whether the group is new to Heifer or filled with long-time supporters, I can’t stop smiling after we share Heifer time.  I get to be one of the links!  I get to help connect Heifer project communities working to change their lives with communities here on the North Shore who want to make that possible.  It feels amazing and I am deeply grateful.

Sandi Watson, AVC Heifer Boston-North

Spring Into Action: Finding the Time to Make a Difference

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Editor’s note: This week’s series about volunteering is to spotlight the Spring into Action events on March 24th hosted by Heifer International. Read why these volunteers have dedicated their time in helping share Heifer’s mission of ending hunger and poverty while caring for the earth.

By Nancy Bauer, Heifer Volunteer

When Kate Merrill, Southeast Community Volunteer Coordinator, asked me to write a blog about volunteering for Heifer International, I was honored.  Heifer is one of my favorite organizations and I am always happy to tell people.  I have had the pleasure of being a volunteer for Heifer for about 7 years.

Like most people, I am a pretty busy person.  I am a wife, mother, try to keep a healthy, active lifestyle; run my own business.  Fitting in a volunteer commitment is sometimes a very difficult thing to do…unless it’s an organization like Heifer.  I volunteer because I really believe that I have an opportunity to make a difference in the world.  And, I volunteer with Heifer because they are making a difference through the creation of sustainable, innovative projects that really help to move people out of poverty.

As I began to organize my thoughts, one word kept coming up over and over in my head:  respect.  I guess I didn’t realize how big a word respect is.  As a volunteer with limited time, I want to know that my time is valued, that my efforts to share Heifer’s mission and work are important and, that I am volunteering in a quality atmosphere.  Over the years, I have been invited to speak about Heifer’s work to women’s groups; I have shared the amazing work of Heifer with students; and, I have been the Heifer representative at various charitable giving fairs.

Respect for human dignity is a major part of Heifer’s program development strategy.  I remember having an opportunity to hear the Country Director from Thailand speak about Heifer’s work with lepers in the Hill Country of his home country.  He told of working with a group of people who had been shunned from their community, of children that were not being allowed to go to school.  Then he showed us one of the amazing projects that had been put in place – it was a fish pond, surrounded by a vegetable garden with a chicken coop over the top.  Fish, vegetables and chickens…all in a small, self-contained area.  Steady access to food raised the nutritional levels of the people in the village, extra food was sold and the money was used to help build a school in the village, kids began attending school again, over all health standards increased.  This once ostracized community began to thrive.

Respect for education is a key part of Heifer’s project strategy.  Giving a gift is not a hand out.  Recipients are expected to learn how to care for the gifts they receive, whether it be a goat, a water buffalo or honeybees.  Education and support are provided to recipients so they know how to efficiently care for their gift – how to milk a goat, how to get honey from bees, how to shear a lamb.  But that training also continues to people who are the beneficiaries of “passing on the gift.”  Heifer commits to support each project for several years, allowing a community time to begin to thrive under the support.

Respect for culture is also a critical part of Heifer’s work.  In every country where Heifer works, project leaders are chosen from that country.  In my experience in the developing world, having a team on the ground who understands the local culture is so critical to success – knowing that women are the farmers in a community rather than the men, knowing that men raise animals – can all factor into the success or failure of a project.  Heifer projects are developed with those cultural perspectives in mind.

Respect for the environment is also a key piece in Heifer project development.  In areas of Latin America where deforestation has taken place, Heifer plants trees and teaches participants how to better use the natural resources.  Coffee farmers in Guatemala have benefited from local expert advice on how best to plant and harvest their coffee.  In Southeast Asia, water buffalo populations are staying stable ad rice farming is made easier for many. Projects are developed by analyzing and utilizing available resources; developing a plan to keep those resources available for a long time.

I am honored that I have an opportunity to volunteer with Heifer.  I feel valued and respected.  I know that beneficiaries of Heifer’s work feel the same way.

Spring Into Action: One Volunteer’s Journey with Heifer

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Editor’s note: This week’s series about volunteering is to spotlight the Spring into Action events on March 24th hosted by Heifer International. Read why these volunteers have dedicated their time in helping share Heifer’s mission of ending hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. 

Hi, there!!  My name is Polly Stewart Holder, and I’m a volunteer for Heifer Project in Atlanta, Georgia.  I really love volunteering for HPI, because I know that whatever I do will make an enormous impact both on the lives of the people that I see and work with here in the Southeast and in the rest of the world.

I first learned about Heifer about five years ago this spring.  I randomly received one of the “Most Important Gift Catalogues” in the mail around the holiday season in 2006.  However, I just set it aside until later that spring.  Upon opening it up, I became quickly intrigued by the Heifer model and the focus that HPI gives to education, empowerment, advocacy and responsibility.  I was particularly impressed by Heifer’s dedication to education.  When I’m not hanging out Heifer-style, I teach in a high school.  I truly think the only way that we are going to make a lasting and global difference in eradicating poverty is through education.

Study Tour for Educators

Heifer does a great deal to support and enrich teachers such as Heifer Us, the GERKs (Global Resource Kits), the website with games/activities, and through the Study Tour for Educators.  I applied and was granted the opportunity to go to Honduras in 2007 on one of those Study Tours.  It changed my life.  I wholeheartedly believe in the Heifer model, and I believe that it is one of the only ways that we can eliminate hunger and poverty and to care for our world.  In fact, I ended up writing my dissertation on Heifer’s experiences for teachers, and I have presented about Heifer in a range of teacher conferences around the United States!

 

Llama Love at Overlook Ranch in MA

As a volunteer, I really love how there’s something for everyone.  HPI truly works with your strengths, and whether you prefer to raise money by taking donations for athletic events (Hoofing it for Heifer), by speaking to churches, civic groups or schools, or by hosting a consciousness raising event in your own home (12 Stones), there is something that you will enjoy!  Every person that I have met while volunteering for Heifer has been fun, smart, involved, and a joy to be around.  I think that YOU should get involved in the Atlanta area group because there are ways for you to keep learning, social events to meet people, and the opportunity to make our world a better place! Please shoot us an email at heiferatlanta@gmail.com or on our Facebook page Heifer in Atlanta for more info.