Service with Blue Skies for Children: 5-6-16

On this unusual indoor service day, we come in from exploring outside and instead explore the connections between us and other youth of our community whose "cups" aren't quite full. As we gathered, we reviewed our service ethic, which is to be of use to any aspect of our community that needs our help. We acted out Our Cups Overflow philosophy of service, that those whose cups spill over have the joy and responsibility of sharing with others whose cups aren't quite full. We introduced the concept of a safety net, created by community to "catch" those who need extra support. We'll revisit the concept of a safety net frequently in coming years, and consider who makes up our safety net. We also discussed the difference between direct and indirect service and why both are important. Finally we were ready to head inside and hear about our tasks for the day.

Volunteer Lisa shared details of Blue Skies For Children's mission, and how they help "fill the cups" of hundreds of children in Whatcom County through granting little and big wishes, providing new shoes (often the first pair of new shoes a child receives), winter necessities, and instrument loans. It was just great to witness the Spotted Owl's emerging commitment to do what they could to contribute to the BSFC mission.

The commitment on this day was to stamp, label and stuff thousands of envelopes. As we talked about direct service vs. indirect service, the Spotted Owl girls saw how this indirect contribution of labeling envelopes to potential donors could allow many children to be assisted by BSFC.

All service projects require some degree of persistence – it is work, after all. But somehow the Spotted Owls successfully made work into play on Sunday. This time was a great way for the girls to connect abouttheir lives, something we often don't have time for on outings. We shared our interests, events in our lives, lots of goofiness, and even touched on politics. We had an interesting discussion about Henry David Thoreau and his quote "If a (girl) does not keep pace with her companions, perhaps it is because (she) hears a different drummer. Let (her) step to the music which she hears, however measured or far away." We shortened this piece of advice to "Dance to the beat of your own drummer" and talked about what that means. Girls shared that those who do that in school are sometimes labeled "weird" - we agreed that we want to celebrate our unique qualities, and that GEC is a place to really support each other in that. Talk of Thoreau connected us to Gandhi and MLK Jr, to standing up for one's beliefs, to service. It was rich!

In Explorers Club, we aim to create a culture that expresses the attitude of writer Rabindranath Tagore: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." Our project involved a different kind of tenacity than usual: there was no inclement weather to work with, no hard-to-pull weeds, but rather, lots of repetitive tasks. But the Spotted Owls never seemed to tire of it; they took a short lunch break, but were determined to finish the job we had come to do. This is integrity in action, following our EC motto Walk Your Talk.

Even amidst all the silliness and fun we had, this group put their best self-management skills to work. With great focus, they sticker-ed, stamped and stuffed a huge number of envelopes and donated the equivalent of 49 hours of time (3.5 hrs x 14 of us)! Filled with a sense of determination and resolve to have the biggest impact possible in a finite amount of time, they filled an additional round of envelopes up until the very last minute! They really left an impression, and received sound gratitude from BSFC board member Lisa. 

Lisa shared that it would have taken her many days to do this much work - she also shared that she is a volunteer. When we asked why she gives freely of so much time, she let us know that her parents mentored her in serving; they both did so all while she was growing up. We hope GEC is helping create similar healthy community-minded habits!

The laws of physics mean that when one's cup is emptied to fill others' cups, that cup becomes more empty. But the Spotted Owls' experience defied physics: they all could easily state that their cups were more full by helping to fill those of the BSFC kids. We shared a quote that reflects this notion that in giving we receive: "The fragrance remains on the hand of who gives the rose."

Our words of the day: Stamping, Stuffing, Serving for Sunny Skies!

EC Mottos especially alive today:
Our Cups Overflow
Walk Your Talk
Collaborate and Compromise
All Things Are Connected
LIBK (Let It Be Known)
Widen The Circle
Everyone Helps

You may view our photo album from the day here.