Volunteer Opportunity!

Hospitality Homes, a local Boston nonprofit that provides cost-free, temporary housing for the families and friends of patients traveling to Boston for medical care, is holding its major annual fundraiser and needs volunteers!

Hospitality Homes seeks volunteers for its 7th Annual Charity Golf Classic on Friday, September 11, at Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, MA. Registration begins shortly after 7 a.m. and the event runs until mid-afternoon, concluding with a lunch and live auction with sportscaster Bob Lobel as guest auctioneer. Volunteers are welcome to commit to either full or half days and will perform a number of tasks, including set-up, registration, contest promotion, auction logistics, and wrap-up. This is a great opportunity for a fun, team-building experience. The Charity Golf Classic is the major annual fundraising event for Hospitality Homes, which provides no-cost, temporary housing in volunteer host homes for families and friends of patients seeking care at Boston-area medical centers. To register as a volunteer, please contact Jeff Stokes at jstokes@hosp.org or 617.482.4338.

To learn more about Hospitality Homes, visit www.hosp.org.

When Moving....

I've written about it before, but I have to say when people move, they tend to forget that it creates a lot of garbage. There are steps you can take to reduce your garbage such as going through your stuff and deciding what is donatable.

Where to donate the stuff?

• Boomerangs in Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury. Benefits HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs.
• Household Goods Recycling in Acton
• Goodwill stores various locations throughout Boston

Sometimes you just have to take the time to advertise what you have on Craigslist or freecylcle and someone will come and pick it up from your house!

Not that I mind all the free furniture I receive when I walk my dog, but please take the time to save the items that can be reused!

Related Posts: Moving? Consider donating some of your items, Composting in an Apartment,Talking Trash

Picture Courtesy of: http://stuytownluxliving.com/2009/07/ex-residents-to-stuy-town-mgmt-f-you.html

In Support of Public Pools

I love swimming. Not in the Michael Phelps sense of the word of course. I don't actually do any strokes, and rarely find exercise in any context enjoyable. By "swimming" I mean hanging out in a body of water. While lakes and oceans offer several outstanding benefits, it's generally more convenient to go to a friend's pool. Plus, you're much less likely to have an unwanted encounter with any sort of marine life (you can read more about my general distaste for fish here).

But what if you find yourself without access to a friend's pool, either because you don't have any friends with pools or you lack friends in general? There is another option.

A year and a half ago, my girlfriend and I moved to a new apartment with an idyllic community pool. With the promise of heated, pristine water within walking distance of our home, I could not wait for summer to begin. The day finally came when the pool opened up on a blazingly hot Saturday. My excitement peaked when we arrived, and soon after plummeted. There were so many people, you could barely move around in the water without knocking into screaming kids playing Marco Polo. One overbearing mother sprayed her rotund, sun-burned child with sunscreen while he was in the pool, leaving a layer of film on the surface of the water. It was too much for me to handle, and after that disappointing experience I did not return to the pool for the rest of the summer.

I'm not sure how I managed to survive the blistering dog days last year without walking a few hundred yards to the nearby oasis. But this summer, I decided to give it another try. To my surprise, it was much more pleasant. Less crowded. Less gross. More refreshing. I'm now a regular on the weekends, and am glad I was able to get over my initial distaste for the public pool after one bad experience. And I'm sure to be there this weekend with the sun and 87-degree weather.

Calling All Sewers, Knitters, & Fabric Lovers

I have an addiction. The type you read about. It's bad, real bad.

I just can't say no to fabric.

All you sewers, quilters, or knitters out there understand. I know you understand, because I read about your addictions on all my craft and sewing blogs.

I have two rubbermaid containers full of fabric. And then some more on top of it. And on top of that. With my boyfriend moving into my small apartment, I can't keep it all. What's a girl to do with all the fabric?

My solution? Donating to Iraqi Bundles of Love. A soldier in Iraq is soliciting fabric and sewing supply donations to give out to women's sewing collaboratives. It all started when he looked at all the items soldiers returning home were leaving behind... and grew from there.

It's simple to participate: Buy a flat rate box from the Post Office for $11.95. Follow his directions on the blog to make a bundle (small or large) filled with whatever sewing/knitting supplies you would like. Contact him for his APO address. Mail for the same price it would cost to send a package to NYC.

And wallah! You've helped women in Iraq make a living, cleaned out some of your fabric stash, and made room for your boyfriend to move in (ok maybe that last one is just me).

Related Posts: Helping a little old lady (quilt); Quilting for a Cause; Flooded Midwesterners still need your help; Partying for Good

Photo courtesy of my stash. But I actually made something out of this fabric - a skirt!

Walk Now for Autism-October 18th

Autism, do you know it affects nearly one in every 150 children in the United States? Therefore it is estimated that 1.5 million Americans may be affected with autism, can you believe that staggering number? Research has yet to provide a cure, but you can help the efforts to find a cure by volunteering to help out the Greater Boston Walk Now for Autism.

This year it will be held on October 18th at Suffolk Downs Racetrack in East Boston. Volunteers are needed for set up, clean up, handing out water, greeting participants, cheering the walkers, assisting with children's activities and more!

Details:

Greater Boston Walk Now for Autism
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
Suffolk Downs Race Track
East Boston, MA

Registration for volunteers: click here.

Registration: 9:00 am Walk Starts: 10:30 am

Join Autism Speaks as we tackle autism! Experience the power of thousands united by a single cause by joining Walk Now for Autism. Start a corporate, school or family team today! Walk Now for Autism offers everyone a fun-filled experience with entertainment, refreshments, an autism community resource fair, and much, much more.

Related Posts: world autism day: boston, Autism around the world,heart to heart