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Changing Lives with Heifer International

Children with Chickens from Heifer International

Image source: Kaluyala.com

Sustainability is such a buzzword these days. It’s one of those words that reflect a way of thinking about the world. It evokes renewable resources, carbon-neutral living, eco-friendliness, and organic food. Conservative talking heads hate the word because it implies a move away from big agricultural subsidies, mono-farming, and corporate globalization. It’s about getting back to basics—growing your own vegetables, shopping locally, and composting. But the word has academic implications too. It calls for a cultural shift away from blind consumerism and towards accountability. In many ways sustainability is anathema in the United States. It seems that way to me. I grew up in a generation of consumers: plastics, Styrofoam, and waste. When I was a kid, I wasn’t conscious of the damage my consumer habits were causing. I think many of us have had a rude awakening in the past decade or so.

“Soft Power”: Volunteering for National Security

Peace Corps Volunteers

Image source: Peacecorps.gov

Back in 2006, the Brookings Institute published a paper by Lex Rieffel entitled, “International Volunteering: Smart Power.” In the paper, Rieffel discusses the many ways that volunteering efforts improve international relations without big overtures, huge expenditures of taxpayer money, or military involvement. Volunteering is a grassroots citizen-lead peace initiative. Rieffel writes: “The face of America that has been welcomed most enthusiastically in the rest of the world for decades has been the face of a volunteer: assisting with disaster relief, building houses for poor families, teaching English to university students, and so much more.”

Nana’s Story: Making a Difference at 80

Foster Grandmother Maxine Romm

Image source: Columbiamissourian.com

A few weeks ago, my nana turned 84. She is incredible: bright, chipper, happy, and sharp as a tack. She may be a little more hunched over than she used to be. Her eyes aren’t as good and her hearing is starting to go, but in every way that matters my nana is still the very same person who held me when I was a baby. I really think one of the reasons she has managed to age so gracefully is her lifelong dedication to volunteering. She is Catholic and is very devout. Her whole life she has been volunteering at her church, giving back to the community in every way that she can. She has run food drives, collected clothing for shelters, raised money for shelter animals, and helped care for the community’s children. She has always been an integral part of life in her corner of New Jersey.

Transforming Teens into World Citizens with Global Leadership Adventures

GLA Volunteer

Image source: Experiencegla.com

High school is a trying time for many people. It’s full of social challenges—fitting in, finding yourself, handling bullies, and exploring young love. On top of navigating a complex social life (even more complex and non-stop now that kids have cell phones!) many kids play sports or are active in clubs. They participate in student government or act in school plays. Of course, through all of this they are constantly challenged academically. After a long day at school, they have homework. They have dinner with their families, continuing to develop social skills and coping mechanisms on all fronts. High school kids have very full lives. It’s an easy time to put on blinders—to get so immersed in the jam-packed day-to-day that you forget about the larger world. And yet, teenagehood is perhaps the most perfect time to break out of your routine, to be exposed to bright new places, new people, and new cultures. It’s a time of such rapid interpersonal growth that every experience becomes formative.

Helping Children Achieve with Outreach360

Volunteer with Outreach360

Image source: Outreach360.org

Sometimes it’s difficult to comprehend disadvantage. Living here, in the United States, I have so many luxuries. While I am not rich compared to my neighbors, I am a millionaire compared to so many people in the world. It’s easy to see yourself through the lens of your own culture—to forget that, on a global scale, the picture is so dramatically different. I thought about this a lot at the beginning of the Occupy movement. Here were millions of Americans, rallying together to fight the 1%, the people in America who enjoy the vast majority of the wealth. Who were we fighting for? We were fighting for the rest of our population—the 99% of Americans who pay taxes, fall behind on mortgages with outrageous interest rates, default on student loans, and can’t find gainful employment. There is no doubt—the way America works is deeply flawed and innocent, hard-working people suffer—but what I think we forget is that, on the global stage, Americans are the 1%. We are the privileged. This is what it means to have a global perspective.