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the mama corpsSubmitted by mommymash on Mon, 06/30/2008 - 10:55pm.
i've been thinking alot lately about how much i'd like to see some sort of global service community designed for families. i looked into the peace corps briefly when i was about 19, but was disappointed to learn that one of its main goals seems to be the americanization of other countries. plus, the peace corps is really designed for childless singles, so it wouldn't be an option for me even if i did think it was a worthwhile program. so here's what i want: a program designed for families to spend time in other countries serving people in any way that they can. a network of mamas looking to expose their children to the world and make a difference at the same time! does anyone know of any programs like this that already exist? or has anyone ever wished for something similar? talk to me mamas, i really wish there was some way we could make this happen! i've been dreaming lately about what it would be like if we had an opportunity like this available to us, and it's making me sweat because i want to do it SO BADLY! that i look forward to.... someday when i'm in a position to do it! monkeygirl and i barely get by as it is right now, sharing a miniscule 1 bedroom apt, paying for our milk and cheese with WIC vouchers, writing post dated checks to pay for her daycare expenses, etc. the child support checks have been few and far between lately and i can't work any more hours than i already do because i don't have care for her! maybe there's a nice family out there who would take US in for a little while, haha. i guess that's not really funny though, since thinking about the number of children out there in need of a safe, loving home is def no laughing matter. anyway, someday i hope to be able to take in a child who needs us, and i look forward to the time that it's possible. i did some volunteer work for the b&gc when i was in high school. i started there because i got in trouble in school and had to do community service to avoid long-term suspension, but i loved being there that i stayed on for 3 more months after my mandatory hours were done. i mostly 'hung out' with the kids, helping them with homework, listening to them if they had shit going on they needed to vent about, playing basketball with them, etc. it was something i really enjoyed doing and would consider doing again-- IF they'd let me bring monkeygirl with me! another thing i thought about doing is the big brother/big sister program, although that might not be wise seeing as i already feel guilty about not being able to spend enough time with my own kid. thanks for opening my eyes to some local programs that i can look into, quark! Yeah I had the same disappointments when I looked into the Peace Corps after high school. My beef was that you needed either a college degree or experience in a certain field, and my family wasn't in the position to send me to college. I felt like they were saying "I'm sorry, you're not smart enough to join the Peace Corps". Now that I'm an almost-graduate at 30, they sai "I'm sorry, but you can't bring you're child." Another beef is that I feel like there are so many problems in America, I feel that we should examine those first. Have you heard of Americorps? It's kind of like the Peace Corps, only it's in America, and you can serve for 1 or 2 years in the location you prefer, and I'm pretty sure they accommodate families. i've never heard of americorps before but i'll definitely look into it since you recommended it! it sounds like a good place for us to start, and i'll let you know what i find out. and I referred to it as "ameri-poor." the living stipend 7 years ago was around $600 a month (which hadn't changed since the 1970's), regardless of children, and I had to work another part-time job and get a credit card just to pay bills. some americorps programs do provide living quarters, usually in bigger cities. you should still look into it but i'll tell ya, it pissed me off that I was doing service for my country and couldn't pay my bills. maybe things have changed since then and you should see what the options are, i just thought it might be helpful to hear my experience with being an ameripoor volunteer. "revolution is not a one time event" Audre Lorde you'd think they'd want to make sure that they were giving people an incentive to serve by making sure they could at least pay their bills! i looked at the americorps website and couldn't find any info about serving with my daughter with me, so i don't know if they even have family programs available. i also noticed that they have mandatory drug testing; not really an issue for me since i gave up the ganj a couple years ago, but man are they strict! i guess people who spark up every now and then aren't worthy of serving their country. so yeah, i'm already poor enough right now. volunteering for something that will make me POORER is prob not the best option.... and I've taken ds with me to clean houses for older people here and work in the community gardens... "Fundamentally the markswoman aims at herself" DT Suzuki and defintely plan on doing some local volunteering with monkeygirl to encourage her sense of community service. she's not even 2 yet, but if i make these kinds of activies a regular part of our life i know that she'll grow up seeing it as a 'normal' thing for a family to do... as far as my desire to do some overseas volunteering, a large part of it is my desire to experience firsthand the cultural and social differences that exist throughout the world. as i've never had the opportunity to travel outside america before, i would love to have an opportunity to take monkeygirl abroad so that we could learn about the world (together!) and make a difference, even in a small way, to people who need help. i'm really interested in the idea of doing some volunteer work with HIV/AIDS prevention and Jubilee Adventures has some programs that are focused on that. i'm getting rambly here.... i should probably heed the advice "think globally, act locally" and start small, i guess! baby steps, right? so i did some googling and found a few programs that accept families and children: Cross-Cultural Soluntions, Globe Aware, and Jubilee Adventures are a couple that seemed pretty legit and had some interesting programs. CCS has a minimum age requirement of 8, though, so that would be out for me. also, all of these programs cost at least $1000 per person/per week, not including airfare. spendy! so, i call on you mamas again to help me: have any of you heard of any safe, affordable family volunteerism programs that you could recommend?? |
or if that sounds like too much, the Boys and Girls club?? Foster care might be really great for you, and you could just take one child and see how it goes. That would be a really rewarding experience and you get a monthly stipend to help pay for their food/clothing/daycare, so it would be volunteer, but without any expenditure on your part.
http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/FCADOPTION/default.htm
"Fundamentally the markswoman aims at herself" DT Suzuki