Do Something

From Saturday's Ashland Times-Gazette

They’re familiar words: “Do something!” A father and son were walking across London Bridge when they saw a number of homeless men huddled in the shadow of that massive span. The order was uttered by William Booth, evangelical preacher turned Salvation Army general, to his son, Bramwell, and their ensuing actions transformed an itinerant preaching ministry into one of the largest faith-based social service providers in the world.

Do something.org is one of the largest “orgs” for young people and social change, and boasts of 2.8 million members who tackle campaigns that impact every cause, from poverty to violence to the environment to literally everything else. “Any cause, anytime, anywhere” is their motto. They’ve got some intriguing examples on their website, including sharing tactics on overcoming bullying and taking down sexism on a football team with one word and ten push-ups. I really like their mission and message, and the great opportunities for teens and young adults to get involved, but I was a bit offended by their membership criteria: “Our members are ages thirteen to twenty-five. Older than that equals old people.” Just wait ‘til they turn thirty.  

“Do Something” is also the theme for an October 27^th rally hosted by Catholic Charities in Mansfield. Author Robert Lupton, (Toxic Charity) will take a critical look at traditional charity models, believing that “if you do something for someone that they can do for themselves, you disempower them.” Should be a fascinating presentation and discussion.

“Do Something.” This oft-repeated phrase will be heard frequently throughout Ashland County over the next few months, and Ev DeVaul and his friends at the United Way of Ashland County are hoping you’ll get so tired of hearing those two words that you’ll step up and do something by supporting their annual fund-raising campaign. The campaign pacesetters “did something” for sure, as they pledged more than half a million dollars, officially kicking off the campaign with a commitment of 47% of the ambitious goal. 

So what, exactly, can we do? The most obvious answer in the United Way campaign is to give money. The reality in the world we live in is that while volunteer hours and creative planning can be quite helpful, money is needed to purchase food for a food pantry, hire qualified staff for the counseling office, and pump fuel into the gas tank of a cancer patient’s automobile.

The United Way will gladly take a no-strings-attached cash donation, but their energetic volunteers also give us opportunities to enjoy our giving. We can do our Christmas shopping at the annual Holiday Happenings on December 4, have breakfast with Santa at Jakes on December 6, or try out the tango or foxtrot at the Harvest Moon Dance with the Kroc Center Big Band on October 11 by the light of the silvery moon.

What else can we do? Diane Winston, who holds the Knight chair in Media and Religion at USC’s Annenberg School, offered another slant on the question as she wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “It’s well and good for individual Americans to volunteer at food banks, staff relief programs and drop coins in kettles at Christmastime. But as [William] Booth understood, these actions need to be accompanied by systemic change, or what he called social salvation. In today’s world that means ensuring that social services provide high-quality public education, affordable housing and healthcare, reliable public transportation and assistance for veterans, families in need and the chronically unemployed.” A tall order, but it’s essential if we are truly going to “do something” to effect long-term change.

Systemic change may be beyond our reach as individuals, and our financial resources may not allow us to make a large gift, but “doing something” is possible for all of us, from school children to the “over twenty-five” old people. Even one dollar per pay period adds up, while our gifts of time and talent can strengthen the United Way campaign, provide volunteer hours at a community agency or church, or support a friend or neighbor in need. It’s not rocket science, Ashland. As the United Way campaign poster encourages us: “Give blessings, give help, give hope.” Don’t just sit there – Do Something!

Dream-Weavers

I’ve enjoyed creating Christmas gifts for years, ranging from holiday goodies to ceramic Christmas trees. In my ceramic period, one year I cleaned, fired, and glazed tiny sheep, shepherds, and Magi to provide a nativity set for each home in our family circle. Fortunately, those days are over – way too much pressure to finish in time for the trip to the Empire State.

Saying farewell to the clay dust on my fingers, I turned to a more manageable task, composing a new Christmas carol or writing some kind of prose project each year. The last four years, I’ve created a book of daily devotional readings for the month of December, and I just completed this year’s offering, Faces of Advent for Christ-Seekers. As I studied those with a role in the nativity narrative, the dreams woven through this ancient story caught my attention, especially the dreams of Joseph. His dream of annunciation is a familiar one, as is the warning to escape to Egypt, but his third dream seemed to be a dream of possibility for the future in the family’s return to Israel.

This third type of dream, of possibilities even in the midst of daunting circumstances, is the theme for this year’s United Way campaign here in Ashland County. With a mission “to improve lives and serve as the leader for change in Ashland County by uniting the caring power of our community,” that mission is coming true, day in and day out, as its leaders and supporters dream of what the future can be for our neighbors who struggle to dream for themselves.

As a child, I stationed myself in front of the television at 4:30 p.m. to watch Queen for a Day, which one reviewer called “one of the most ghastly shows ever produced.” Ghastly or not, I was intrigued by the stories of the contestants, who spoke of the need for medical care or equipment to help a chronically ill child, or of the hope for a hearing aid, a new washing machine, or a refrigerator. After the women told their stories of woe, the audience voted on who deserved to be queen for a day. The winner was crowned, draped in a red velvet robe, and then received her dream gift along with a new wardrobe, a vacation trip, or a brand new set of pots and pans.

I tried to think up a sob story to get my mother on the show, but we didn’t have the dramatic story line to catch the attention of the producers. My dad was able to get work most of the time, we were generally healthy, and we were not struck by the catastrophic occurrences that marked the lives of the Queen for a Day contestants. Our story is not every family’s story. I know many families, even right here in Ashland County, whose world is one of nightmare, not dreams. A dearly loved child has a chronic illness that taps their resources and their capacity to hope, their fantasy marriage turned abusive and ended in a messy divorce, or an adult child, trapped in addiction, abandoned their children on the grandparent’s doorstep, breaking their hearts one more time.

I’ve been in the social service field a long time, and I know that United Way and its partner agencies can’t play Queen for a Day; they’re not always able to make dreams come true. But services funded every day by United Way dollars can put healthy food on the table, provide a hopeful start for our little ones, and intervene when a home collapses, literally or figuratively, easing the sting of the nightmares of life.

The dream-weavers and dream-catchers of United Way strive to reduce barriers so that families stressed by tough situations can dream again, taking baby steps towards health and wholeness. I don’t think John Lennon ever visited Ashland, but he bore witness to the reality of this community when he sang, “you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” When we support United Way, we become dream-weavers, standing shoulder to shoulder with our neighbors and claiming Gary Wright’s words: “I believe we can reach the morning light.”

 

Team Hope!

We wear messages around our wrists, both to remind us of a person or of a cause that we support, and to witness to those around us about what matters most to us.  In grade school it was a friendship bracelet, woven of various strands that braided together the hearts of little girls.  The bracelet of my teen years was the Viet Nam POW/MIA bracelet, remembering and praying.  In the 1990’s, it was a WWJD bracelet, asking What Would Jesus Do, the life-changing question raised in Charles Sheldon’s book In His Steps.   Over the years we’ve worn silicone bracelets in the colors of our favorite cause, in the hues of school spirit, and to proclaim our faith.  Now, Ashland County residents will be sporting blue bands around our wrists, signifying that we are a member of Team Hope, this year’s focus for the United Way campaign.

In the battle for hearts and lives that Team Hope fights daily in the United Way partner agencies that serve our community, the adversaries are stealthy.  There’s no one menacing opponent in the boxing ring, no eye-to-eye contact with the enemy in a goal-line stand.  The forces and circumstance that challenge hope sneak up on us, often starting as deficits in childhood that persist in adulthood, and sometimes are exasperated by self-inflicted wounds.  At other times, the attack is random and catastrophic – a fire, an accident, a pink slip, a dreaded diagnosis.  But however they come, they hit hard, threatening to overwhelm our brothers and sisters who lack the resources to handle them.    

                My first published book was entitled The Heartwork of Hope.  As I sat at the United Way campaign kick-off breakfast on Thursday, I kept thinking about that title.  I worked for 34 years in Salvation Army ministry that believes in the heartwork of hope, the spiritual journey with its works of faith, confession, repentance, and service to others.  Yet I was struck by a similar phrase vying for my attention– the hard work of hope. 

                Hope is hard work.  For someone battling depression, it’s hard work to get out of bed and face the day.  It’s hard work for the unemployed to beat the pavement (or the internet )in search of a job that can feed your family.  And it’s hard work to hope for a better tomorrow when the doors of today are slammed in your face.

The people of Ashland get that.  We know that some of our neighbors struggle every day, working hard to hold onto a thread of hope.  That’s why the staff and volunteers of United Way work hard all year to raise funds and to increase awareness of the needs of people in Ashland County. 

If I’ve discovered one thing since moving to Ashland six years ago, it’s that Ashlanders are not afraid of hard work.  If it helps our brothers and sisters, we’ll lug boxes, plant seeds, wait on tables, rake leaves, read to children, test-drive cars, grill Wonder dogs, and even decorate Christmas trees.  And yes, we’ll give sacrificially as well to keep that hope alive. 

At the kickoff breakfast, the Samaritan Regional Health System team was courageous in naming the charter members of the opposing team: despair and apathy.   Be on notice, you two: as Team Hope members, we’re calling you out.  Team Despair – we know you try your best to get us to lose hope but we’re refusing to give in.  Team Apathy – we’re not joining up.  We’re committed to care about our sisters and brothers.  We’re not willing to slink around our community with our eyes to the ground, being bullied by despair and refusing to look hope in the face.  We’re donning our Live United T-shirts, stretching the Team Hope bracelets around our wrists, and taking up the challenge.   Team Hope!  Team Hope!

It’s who we are as people in community.  As we live and work together, we can be a community where, as the Samaritan volunteers proclaimed, “despair and apathy don’t get a second chance. “   One donut, one dime, one dollar, one donation at a time.