Yes! My own pub! I was about to jump the border. At the last minute I got the opportunity to work and live in Europe for the summer. It was a chance to work on a children’s book (8-12 year old age group) that I had conceived 5 years ago and had outlined in full and started the previous year. Between brushing up on my Spanish, rehabbing injuries sustained when I was hit by a drunk driver in April, finding and packing sensible walking shoes, regular work stuff, lining up someone to take care of... [Read more]
Shhhhh... I'm Volunteering from The Couch! Do you like video games? Do you want to volunteer but don’t want to leave the couch? Great! I have an activity for you. Go to www.FreeRice.com FreeRice.com is the Official Winner* of: Volunteering Made Easy Best Way to Stay Seated and Volunteer I Made the World A Better Place While Procrastinating at Work Can I Report These Community Service Hours to My Parole Officer? And possibly… The Palme d’Or ** All kidding aside – go play any of... [Read more]
Hi You do not have to submit to a polygraph to adopt a pet. Clearly, I have not been doing a good job as thegoodmuse. My only job is to offer a first person account of volunteering or all thing non-profit so you, my adoring public, might know what to expect when doing goodness. But I haven’t been covering all bases. Case in point… Lucky, the cat from Volunteer Episode 69, was almost adopted after my post about him was published. However, I neglected to discuss what would be required during... [Read more]
Laughing in a Paris Cafe I cut my hair for charity. Again. To be quite honest, this haircut… It was kind of an emotional decision. Don’t get me wrong – cutting your hair for charity is always a good idea. Always. However… Unlike the last haircut, which I anticipated for a year, this one came out of… Well, it happened after a particularly rough holiday season. Oh, I told everyone it was a professional decision. I was working with a girl with gorgeous long red locks, comedian Virginia... [Read more]
Lucky Chillin on my Kitchen Table It took a long time to write this one, as I’m still a little sad about it: I was driving across country over the holidays and had the… distinct pleasure… of stopping in Hooks, Arkansas. The town is made up of a few trailers and two gas stations – one station apparently only takes gold bullion. I stopped at the other station. As I walked inside to pay I saw a friendly black cat approach a woman and meow. The woman kicked the cat. I literally saw... [Read more]
Mercedes & Kitty Kat Don’t volunteer with cats if you’re allergic. I repeat, differently: If you are allergic to cats do not volunteer with them. En espanol: No voluntario con los gatos si usted alergico a ellos. Obvious? You’d think so, but I had occasion to test this. Here’s what happened… I set up a volunteer activity with one of the most helpful* volunteer groups of all time – Heaven on Earth Animal Sanctuary. They have a small house in Van Nuys, which they’ve... [Read more]
The Ladies Payne Repaid Again! Re-loaned again. And just in time for Christmas. I would never suggest that Kiva is more fun as a competition. Especially not a competition between family members. That would be tacky and defeat the purpose of being generous out of the goodness of your heart. But… if, lets say, my family members and I were all making Kiva loans then… I would be ahead. By a lot. Maybe it’s because I do due diligence. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve learned to stick... [Read more]
