On volunteering

Ok, this one may be a bit worthy, but I have been thinking a lot about the whole volunteering process given that that is what I am spending my 'work' time doing here. The systems are different, of course, but it is also having more time to commit to these things that have got the cogs whirring.

The voluntary projects I have taken part in at home have had varying degrees of success. The two London Twestivals were very hard work, but rewarding - in terms of the money raised but also the sense of achievement and the chance to work with some truly inspiring, excellent people. This is probably the only way I have ever actually 'networked' and I didn't even have to try. Working with the Monday Club at the Camden Society (a social club for adults with moderate to severe learning difficulties) was doubly hard work, given that it was every Monday night, but the adults I worked with showed real progress over the six months I was there, and I was completely touched by how much I was appreciated and valued. Honestly, if you get nothing else out of volunteering, the sense of self-worth it inspires is reward enough.
Other projects I have tried to be involved in have never got off the ground. If there's one thing a charity should get right, it's volunteer relations. While this is easier for bigger charities (who will have people dedicated to this very task), smaller charities are often missing this aspect. I don't mean you have to have someone dedicated to this if your resources need to be used elsewhere, but even a sign on a website saying "We are a small team and it may take some time to get back to you." and then someone actually getting back to me. It is similar to companies who underestimate how far good customer service goes - even if someone can't immediately help you, being told that someone will help you soon placates and removes the feelings of being ignored.

The American system of volunteering is very different to the UK system. In the UK I have waited up to six months to start a volunteering post, mostly due to the systems of obtaining a clean Criminal Record check for each different volunteering post. Maybe because I have kept a squeaky-clean record (not even a speeding ticket, guv), I am pretty much invisible to the Criminal Justice system. In the US, despite my not being a citizen here, I tick a box on a form declaring that I have no criminal record and start volunteering the next day. This is a huge improvement on my part. There are obviously arguments for and against this system in terms of security, though I am never left alone with any vulnerable people. I am sure they are checking my background, though I am not sure how much they will find internationally.

I have been lucky to be pointed in the direction of 826NYC and the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, a mere block from my house. They provide free after-school tutoring, homework help and workshops about creative writing, film making, script writing, journalism and all sorts of other things for 6-18 year olds. The space is inspiring and fun, and the atmosphere relaxed. The idea is to inspire children in surroundings that are completely different to their school or library in order to make them more inclined to learn and create. It is a wonderful idea, replicated in many locations in the US, and soon to be arriving in London. I hope to be involved with that project on my return to the UK.

Recently, I did a stint with Meals on Wheels in hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This was useful to me in many ways, not least that I got to see an area that I am not familiar with and was taken to see 'projects' - the equivalent of UK council estates - that were socially miles away from the uber bars, galleries and music venues the area has come to be known by. My guide on this sunny morning was a Puerto-Rican ex-gang member. He had been in prison, and part of the condition of his parole was that he do community service, so he reluctantly started delivering Meals on Wheels (on foot). This was three years ago, and he now works six days a week for them. He credits the volunteering system with keeping him on the straight and narrow, and seeing the genuine affection he shares with the old people he delivers to, I can completely believe it. There must be hundreds of volunteering stories like this one - where the joy and recognition you get from helping basically (and apologies if this is twee) makes you want to be a better person.

I wonder if the system in the UK could be changed to make it easier to volunteer? With widespread cuts to the public sector becoming a depressing reality, volunteers will need to pick up the slack in areas such as mental health, childcare and help for the elderly. Everyone is tightening the purse strings, so monetary donations are inevitably going down. Without the means to employ people, charities will need more volunteers to help with the administration and practical aspects involved, not to mention marketing, social media etc. This can be done remotely in a lot of cases, so anyone with a computer and minor admin skills can help. Those with specific skills in PR and marketing should check out Bright One - an agency helping small to medium charities set up by the ridiculously-motivated Ben Matthews (also a Twestival co-founder).

This post is not meant to be a rallying cry to make more people volunteer, but I know I have got an awful lot out of it. I am lucky in that I do not have a demanding job, or children to look after, or studies to complete, so I know that these things complicate matters. But if it has inspired you or nudged you, feel free to visit a site such as Timebank in the UK, or I use New York Cares in the US. Your fellow countrymen need you!

Observations

I was thinking the other day that I needed to express some observations as well as give you all a yawnsome run-down of my comings and goings. So here's a few things from the brain of Sarah - feel free to dismiss at will...

- Everyone jaywalks here. This came as a shock to me, as the last time I was in the States, I was in California, where they are very strict. But NYers walk out regardless, which often makes for witnessing lots of scary near-misses between pedestrians and taxis. And everyone pretty much drives like a maniac too, in Manhattan at least.

- The 'art' of the wolfwhistle and car horn toot to express delight in the female physique is alive and well. This surprised me, given that it has all but (happily) disappeared in London.

- People stare more here than in London. I don't know whether it is because I wear different clothes (though we're not talking anything outrageous here), or because I am very VERY white, even compared with all the other white people, or because I am a stone-cold fox (ahem), or if everyone is just more open about looking.

- If you talk to a single man in a bar or cafe (or launderette or library) it is assumed you are chatting him up. By both him and those around you.

- Things the NYC subway does right: runs all night, air-conditioned, machines to check how much credit you have on your travel card. Things the NYC subway does wrong: confusing maps, changes to the service without warning, people going in and out of the same barriers.

- The declaration of calories on menus takes the fun out of going to get something trashy from a cafe. I realise this is the point.

- EVERYTHING has high-fructose corn syrup in it. Including my gherkins. Perverse.

- You can't buy everything you want from one supermarket. Really. My friend goes to four different ones to get the things she likes/needs. If it's strong on cheese, it's lacking in bread, and so on.

- The approach to brunch here should really be adopted more wholeheartedly in the UK - you start at around 11am, eat nice food, drink cocktails and gossip with your friends. It's like the pub Sunday roast, but for the summer. Embrace it please, London!

- The NHS *really* shouldn't be taken for granted, UK-dwellers. Having to self-diagnose and interpret stupidy complicated medical insurance means people don't really go to the doctor even if they need to. Erk.

More as and when they occur to me.

All that jazz

I couldn't decide whether to make a reference to Chicago the musical or Chicago the band as the title to this post. Either of these suggest how very cool I really am...

So, yes, I spent five lovely days in Chicago visiting some very dear long-term friends of mine. It was really rather lovely to spend time with people who know me - no explaining myself, no small talk, no backstory. I didn't talk too fast for them to understand my accent (which seems to happen in NY). Ace.

It was my first visit to Chicago, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone - lovely city. It feels like New York For Grown-Ups - skyscrapers and bars and stuff, but also clean and safe, with the lake coming right up the side of the city, adding an airiness to the whole thing. They have a rather excellent art gallery in the centre which has lots of very well-known paintings in it (as well as being featured in Ferris Bueller, the mark of true cultural greatness). It was also free on the Thursday evening that we went, and we all know how much I love a bargain.

I also went up the Willis (nee Sears) Tower, and only got a small wobble of vertigo when I stepped out on to the viewing platforms that have a glass bottom so you can see directly down. We ate Chiacgo deep-dish pizza (which was not as appealing to me as normal thin-crust - sorry, Chicago) and went on a boat tour where the architecture was explained by a very keen and annoyingly perky kindergarten-school-teacher-in-training. The sun shone and we ate lovely food from the farmer's market. I had my first breakfast panckaes of the trip, and my first meatloaf ever (I think). We went out for my first curry of the trip, though were left unsatisfied by the strange poppadoms - apparently it's not something they really eat in the States, which is a shame as it's often my favourite part of the meal. We also went to a barbecue on the 42nd floor of an apartment block - I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who lived in such a tall building before. Lovely folks, too.

All-round brilliance, basically.