How can I be most helpful?

Since my time-intensive long-term volunteer activity of camping in downtown Portland was over, it was time to find a new volunteer task to help the cause. I decided to sign up for a four hour shift at the information booth. I figured that I could help answer questions & e-mails or something.

"Where can I drop off donations?"

"What happened at the GA last night?"

"What are you asking for anyway?"

"Is this legal?"

It was really fun, fast-paced, hectic and challenging. I enjoyed it. I organized donations, directed people, responded to e-mails, handed out supplies and talked to people.

After working for most of the day, I realized that there was a small piece missing from the puzzle--a volunteer program. Not to hate on anarchical systems of organization, but it is very challenging to reach out to lots of people without a framework to plug them all into. I started asking questions about their systems of communication, systems of outreach. Out of the chaos I was looking for order...

...and that's when I met Jimmy.

Moving out

We are no longer camped down at Occupy Portland. Last night, someone that I would call, an "agent provocateur" targeted our camp. When he first got there, he had a job and a girlfriend and a house, by the end of the night he was friends with all the gutter punks encouraging them to drink out in the open, yelling about having a gun, and making threats our way.

I was scared. I was angry. I was sleep deprived and my life was starting to suffer. I wanted to cry.

We couldn't stay any longer. Packed up and shipped out.

Rough night. 

Occupy Wall Street: Protest as Volunteer Work

As you can imagine, I've been watching the Occupy Wall Street protests in downtown New York, and it got me to thinking about activism as a form of volunteerism. Perhaps they are one in the same--two beasts from the same bushel. Donating your time to benefit the common good. Sounds about right.

Unfortunately, when you really get down to it, a lot of volunteer jobs should be well-paid and insured government jobs or something similar. If we had a tax structure that supported the community good instead of corporate interest, we'd all be looking a whole lot better. Lots of our hard work and dedication would be rewarded with, what it should be, money. Or perhaps even better: our schools & healthcare would be paid for, and would be able to free up our own resources to become donors & volunteers.

I'd have to say, that occupying downtown New York for 12 days now is quite a long-term volunteer experience.

And as follows, my volunteer project for the next couple months will be: Occupy Portland - beginning October 6th. I'll be there. I'll have to see who I can gather. I think this is a group volunteer activity.

"activism is my rent for living on this planet" - Alice Walker