Midori wrote a post yesterday morning that made me do something... She's evil that way. ;^ )
In Midori's post, she was talking specifically about schools and teachers and being involved in our communities. You should read it if you haven't already.
The Ultimate Pay It Forward, Teachers Thinking About Our Future
For those of you that don't know, my father was a teacher for many years. He taught Junior high School, High School, Middle School and College at various times. The subjects were mostly math and the sciences, especially earth sciences, geology, paleontology and paleogeology. He loved teaching. Even when he wasn't a teacher, he often found himself in classrooms teaching. He volunteered to help teachers cover subjects that he had an expertise in, where they needed more strength.
And I can testify that he was never "off." Family vacations were learning experiences... and history was one of his loves. It wasn't about money... it was about passion. I followed him around museums where he seemed to gather a crowd sometimes as he explained to me how prehistoric animals interacted, the challenges historical figures faced or the importance of some event or person. He loved it.
Back from the tangent...
Midori mentioned that she volunteered so much the school offered her a job. And that struck in me. Junior Achievement has been running ads looking for volunteers here in Georgia. I would bet that those ads are running elsewhere as well... even if they aren't I would bet that the need is there. I had been listening to those ads for a few weeks... And I had been meaning to log into the website and volunteer. Been meaning to... how many times have you "been meaning to"?
I'm not "been meaning to" anymore. Yesterday, after commenting on Midori's post, I went to the JA of Georgia website... in the same window. I signed up to volunteer after looking over some of the opportunities. A short while later, I got an email thanking me and asking what I would be willing to do. During the last paragraph, I got a reply with my new JA contact person. In another tab, right now, I am joining their FaceBook page. As soon as I am done with the post, I will be emailing the person that manages volunteer opportunities in Gwinnett County.
We are something special!
Many of us have small businesses. We are the gas in the engine of capitalism. We make the bulk of the jobs. We make the bulk of the income. We pay the bulk of the taxes. We are also the parents. We are also the community leaders. And WE have the opportunity and responsibility to instill these values in the next generation.
So, Midori reminded me that I needed to "do something"... and more importantly, I needed to stop "been meaning to" do something. I'll learn some things, too...
Final thought...
There are 135,798 members of A|R at this particular moment. About 20% are active enough that we actually blog and interact here. That is 27,160 real estate agents, mortgage professionals, inspectors, stagers and others. Generally, as connected and blogging real estate professionals we are influential, connected and good communicators.
Whether it is JA or some other group. Imagine the impact that we, as Active|Rain members, could have. Imagine the impact that we could have if the NAR or the NAMB or the NAHB got behind this.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
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