087 Nelson Santos—Volunteer Overseas for Free
Spreading Love Through Action—Volunteer Overseas for Free
You care about others, and you are adventuresome. Volunteering overseas appeals to you, but not at the price quoted in the fancy brochures! You and Nelson Santos are kindred spirits. Fortunately, he's blazed a trail for you. With his help, you can volunteer overseas—for free.
Nelson has only had to spend plane fare for the last several years to volunteer in amazing places: Alaska, helping with a donation drive for hospice; Nepal, building schools; Mexico and Thailand, working in dog shelters; Myanmar, attending to the sick and dying in the care of a monastery; and Mexico, caring for children in a refuge for the underprivileged. He spends two weeks to two months in each assignment.
The experiences have challenged him and, in his words, made him "a stronger man." They have also been deeply satisfying as he sees that his putting love into action has changed not only him but also those he has served. To find these opportunities, Nelson had to do a lot of searching on the web. That has led him to creating a path for others. Now with more than 7,000 "members" in his online Facebook community, he is able to assist them in finding volunteer opportunities for free, as well.
In addition through his online service, Nelson prepares those who are interested. He recommends starting to volunteer close to home, on a week-long mission trip, or on a minimal commitment basis while on an overseas vacation, such as at a dog shelter or soup kitchen. These "toe in the water" experiences are often enough to help people take the plunge, dedicating more time in more challenging situations.
Nelson also encourages people to volunteer from their strengths, rather than going hoping to learn a new skill. Carpentry, construction and repair skills, medical expertise, and teaching and training others at various levels are especially needed and of great value to the serving agency. He also reminds new volunteers that the host will provide food and accommodations but not to expect too much. These places willingly share from what little they have, which is not like going back to a hotel at night for a shower and a steak. Volunteers may work harder than they have ever before, but the payment of love is priceless.
Now working full time volunteering and expanding his online assistance to other potential volunteers, Nelson supports his own financial needs only through the sale of his T-shirts. He says, "My purpose us to show kindness, help the needy, and inspire others to do the same." For him volunteering is a lifestyle—not an event. It’s a way to spread love.
To find out more, follow Nelson on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelingvolunteeryogi. He is also working on and will soon launch a website: volunteeroverseasforfree.com. Look for it.
If you are interested in supporting Nelson's efforts or you just like really cool T-shirts, check out smilingtimes.com.
086 Amy Bond—Monroe Harding Foster Care Services
Disrupting the Disruptions—Monroe Harding Foster Care Services
Disrupted! Disruptive! Disruption. These three words are a concise description of the experiences of children who land in foster care. Something has torn apart their family. The trauma may come from within the family or from forces outside. The family is disrupted.
In children, trauma frequently manifests itself in disruptive behavior. Losing their family and their sense of safety, security, and being loved shoves children into "survival mode," off balance and struggling desperately to regain their footing. Acting out is a frantic grasping for a steadying hand. Disruptive behavior is also an indicator of another change in the brain itself. Unchecked, those changes have generational consequences. Often the young people in foster care have parents whose lives have also been previously wounded by trauma.
"Disrupted" and "disruptive" need disruption. Monroe Harding Foster Care Services steps up to interrupt the negative and help children and families heal and, when possible, to reunite and move forward positively. Key in that "disruption" are the volunteer foster parents. Currently through Monroe Harding, 45 families have opened their homes and their hearts to provide stability, security, and love. Research has shown that routine, that feeling nothing bad is going to happen, and a sense that someone cares all help the brain to heal and the disruptive behaviors to cease. The love and support that the foster families give make change possible even for the most traumatized.
Amy Bond, Monroe Harding's Foster Care Coordinator, prepares prospective foster parents and provides training and other support for them. The process may take as long as six months before receiving a child, but many of those 45 families have been fostering children for multiple years, one for 25 and another for 30. They've found great reward in doing so. With nearly 9,000 young people in foster care in Tennessee alone (and nearly half a million in the U.S.), more volunteers are needed. Countering a pernicious stereotype, Amy points out that foster parents don't get rich off the limited funds they receive from the state. Foster families are carefully screened, and the remuneration is only a minimal attempt to cover the extra expenses incurred by taking in a child.
Monroe Harding has been providing care for 125 years, first for orphans and now for the young people in foster care. They regularly see foster families open their hearts (regardless of the expense) because they know that their loving care is a needed and positive disruption for a young person and for generations to come.
For more about Monroe Harding, including other volunteer opportunities, visit monroeharding.org.
For similar programs in your area, search for foster parenting.
085 Don Schulze—Nations Ministry Center Citizenship Classes
Citizenship Classes—No Trivial Matter!
"I'm a lot of fun at parties," quips Don Schulze. "I know a bunch of 'trivia.'" Don also makes his classes lots of fun, but his class material is not trivial. As a volunteer for the Nations Ministry Center in Nashville, Tennessee, he teaches citizenship preparation to immigrants who want to make America their official country as well as their home.
Most of Don's students are refugees. They've fled persecution, survived war, endured the hardships of overcrowded camps, and now have to navigate a new culture, a new language, and a new life. Not shying away, they choose to take the next step to become United States citizens.
To pass the test, applicants must answer only six questions correctly. Sounds easy, but the catch is that the questions chosen come from a pool of 100. So students have to know all 100 answers to be sure of passing the six they are asked. No trivial task! The test is the equivalent of a final exam from a high school civics courseU.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, government structures, American history, and the principles upon which this country was foundedinformation many native born citizens couldn't easily answer at a party!
Don teaches with a lightness that includes fun as well as facts, learning to know each student and recognizing the ranges of challenges individuals face, and listening to their stories as well as teaching the material that will be tested. "I have enormous respect for these people," says Don. "It's humbling to realize the obstacles they have had to overcome." Getting to know the people and seeing them desire this next step into citizenship keeps him volunteering.
After retiring, Don and his wife moved from California to Nashville in 2011. His interest in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) led him to the citizenship classes when he learned about the Nations Ministry Center from his church. The Center, which resources new arrivals to this country in a variety of ways, has other volunteer opportunities, as well. Among those are job coaching, helping school children learn to read in their new language, and assisting families, as they find their way in a new city and a new life.
For more about the Nations Ministry Center, listen to Retire-to Volunteering Podcast #80 or visit their website nationsministrycenter.org.
084 Katie Richards—Nashville Neighbors
Friends for Good—Siloam Family Health Center
Take a moment to appreciate your friends. You know you can count on them for a listening ear when you're trying to figure out things, for good information and advice when you need direction, for help when you're in a bind, and yes, even for fun. Research has documented the value of friendships, showing that they contribute to the health, wellbeing, and confidence of people.
Siloam Family Health Center serves the under-served population of Nashville, especially newly arrived refugees. The 25+ year-old program includes a primary care clinic, seeing 4,000 to 5,000 patients a year. Additionally, the center provides health education programs for their clients. And as "a whole-person health care ministry," Siloam has developed a program connecting the refugees with volunteer teams of new "friends," their own Nashville Neighbors.
According to Katie Richards, Siloam's volunteer coordinator, a team is composed of six to 14 adults, usually ones who already know one another, such as being from the same church or sharing another type of friendship tie. Siloam provides training about the kinds of needs and questions the refugees face and also about the specific culture from which the refugees have come. Siloam also pays for an interpreter to facilitate communication between the team and the family. Team members share the responsibility for being good neighbors so they, as friends, can support one another in this new venture and no one person is overwhelmed. The team commits to six months as Nashville Neighbors.
What happens during those brief months? Many of the refugees have fled violence and war in their home country only to be "housed" in a crowded refugee camp in yet another country, sometimes for as many as 14 years. Leaving behind whatever little support system they had and coming to America, they face a new language, new systems, new expectations of them, new challenges. Having friends to "walk along side them" makes something as "simple" as filling out an application (in a language that they don't speak) and negotiating other common tasks of daily living in a new culture and society much more manageable.
As for the friends on the team, as they get to know the names, faces, and stories of their new neighbors and see them blossom with better health, wellbeing, and confidence, the Nashville Neighbor teams find their own hesitations dissipating and the blessings flowing both ways.
For more information about Siloam, visit siloamhealth.org. To find out more about Nashville 4rNeighbors, contact Katie Richards at 615-921-6114.