Friday I volunteered at the Reno-Tahoe YPN Inagural Summit. The theme was "Challenge for Change" and our keynote speaker was Rebecca Ryan of Next Generation Consulting. Her entire speech was amazing and spoke to me on so many levels, but the point that really hit home to me was her advice to choose to be positive about Reno. Just like when we hear someone make a racist joke and we let them know we don't find it funny, don't keep quite when someone makes fun of the city we love.
That is so true. I've chosen to be a champion of the city I love and I won't abide by anyone bringing it down with stereotypes and negativity.
Another benefit of being there was meeting so many amazing and like-minded young people, including Pete Parker of Sage Ridge School. His passion for giving back to the community was palpable and inspiring. I spoke to him about what I'm trying to do by bringing the CoolPeopleCare.org presence to Reno and I look forward to getting him and the rest of the RTYPN Give Committee involved.
I must have something wrong with me, but when I come home at the end of a day of volunteering bone-tired and nearly starved to death because I've been too busy to sit down for a moment or eat, I feel better than ever. Even though my feet were so sore I could hardly walk by the time I got home, I was looking forward to getting up this morning and volunteering for the annual Truckee River Clean-up with Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful. I spent the morning at Mayberry Park wrapping trees with chicken wire to prevent beavers from eating them and cleaning up trash along the river. I had no idea there are beavers in Reno! A group of about 40 high school students from Upward Bound were there for the clean-up. I was psyched when a bunch of the girls commented on my Cool People Care shirt and wanted to know where they could get one. I told them all about the website and one of the girls said that I've started a movement and I'm going to start seeing people all over town with that shirt on. I told her I hope so!!
My house looks like a bomb went off in it, I haven't been grocery shopping in over two weeks, and I haven't cracked open my CPA Exam study materials in over a week. I wonder what I can get involved in tomorrow . . .
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Cool People Care
While reading one of my favorite blogs, Modite, I discovered a really cool website that is right up my alley: CoolPeopleCare.org. Reno wasn't on the list, so I emailed the creator, Sam Davidson. He contacted me right away and we're working on getting Reno "on the map" so to speak.
I am so excited about this that I'm checking my email every five minutes to see if he's sent me the press release announcing Reno's inclusion on the site. I want to do everything I can to get the word out about this site because I think there is a real need for this here. The RGJ carries a weekly listing of volunteer opportunities, but I've noticed that there are a lot of opportunities missing. I don't know if the non-profits aren't sending them in or the RGJ just doesn't have room to print them all, but we really need one comprehensive source for active people to turn to when they're looing for ways to get involved.
Spread the word . . .
I am so excited about this that I'm checking my email every five minutes to see if he's sent me the press release announcing Reno's inclusion on the site. I want to do everything I can to get the word out about this site because I think there is a real need for this here. The RGJ carries a weekly listing of volunteer opportunities, but I've noticed that there are a lot of opportunities missing. I don't know if the non-profits aren't sending them in or the RGJ just doesn't have room to print them all, but we really need one comprehensive source for active people to turn to when they're looing for ways to get involved.
Spread the word . . .
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Great Reno Balloon Races
I recently became involved with the Great Reno Balloon Races. For the past six years I've lived just north of Rancho San Rafael Park. I'd be driving to work on a Thursday morning in early September, I'd turn a corner and all of a sudden the sky in front of me would be filled with colorful balloons of all shapes and sizes. Still, I was a little blase about hot air balloons, but a partner in my firm asked me to get involved, so I did. It turned out to be one of the most moving and beautiful experiences of my life.
If you've never been to the Great Reno Balloon Races, or just observed from afar, you simply MUST go next year. The charm of our event is that the public is allowed full access to the field. There is nothing like strolling through the field while 100 balloons are being inflated just before a mass ascension. It is like being in another world. I took a million pictures, but no photo can do it justice.
The most moving experience was my first time at Dawn Patrol on Saturday morning. Just thinking anout it makes me emotional. I can't even put it into words. There is just so much beauty in the world. There are so many opportunities to do and see and experience things, but so often we fill our lives with the mundane. Instead hiking in the mountains, we watch TV. Instead of gazing at the stars, we flip through a magazine. Instead of getting out of bed a little earlier one weekend a month to witness the magic of flight, glowing orbs against an onyx sky, we stay in bed or enjoy our coffee and newspaper in our own kitchens.
Believe me, I value the mundane as much as the next person. I love television, reading, sleeping, and a hot cup of coffee and a newspaper as much as the next person. It is comforting and calming sometimes. But don't let that be all there is to life.
If you've never been to the Great Reno Balloon Races, or just observed from afar, you simply MUST go next year. The charm of our event is that the public is allowed full access to the field. There is nothing like strolling through the field while 100 balloons are being inflated just before a mass ascension. It is like being in another world. I took a million pictures, but no photo can do it justice.
The most moving experience was my first time at Dawn Patrol on Saturday morning. Just thinking anout it makes me emotional. I can't even put it into words. There is just so much beauty in the world. There are so many opportunities to do and see and experience things, but so often we fill our lives with the mundane. Instead hiking in the mountains, we watch TV. Instead of gazing at the stars, we flip through a magazine. Instead of getting out of bed a little earlier one weekend a month to witness the magic of flight, glowing orbs against an onyx sky, we stay in bed or enjoy our coffee and newspaper in our own kitchens.
Believe me, I value the mundane as much as the next person. I love television, reading, sleeping, and a hot cup of coffee and a newspaper as much as the next person. It is comforting and calming sometimes. But don't let that be all there is to life.
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