GiveJust1 Day 1 of 100 -- 99 to go

January 21, 2009 Day 1 of 100 Days -99 to go







For me today was a Wednesday…a regular old Wednesday. I got up today and thought about going to the gym and didn’t. I looked up the service opportunities happening near Studio City California, by entering the local zip code on http://www.usaservice.org and also on the volunteer widget on the http://www.givejust1.org website from FastWeb Volunteers http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/resources/volunteer/search.ptml powered by Volunteer Match. Then I took a shower and thought about why I am afraid to volunteer at a hospice facility.

I spent the rest of the day working on ideas for GiveJust1. Translation: I sat on the couch in Scott Brick’s living room for most of the day jamming on my MacBook Pro. I watched equal parts of CNN, FoxNews, and MSNBC. I also slipped in an episode of Chuck from the Tivo. I bounced a bunch of ideas around with Scott’s girlfriend Wendy and we listened to Give Just One by Mandy Steckelberg lots of times.
https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=643428660&email=0f10e9a33d9cd62b963f6dad452f5c53
I still haven’t figured out how to load it on the GiveJust1 blog page.

We now have a “Cause” page on Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/198708?m=4e83eec2&recruiter_id=33131584
As of this writing 17 members.

The group page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=63798095080
As of this writing 987 members from lots of states (but not all 50) and many countries!

The GiveJust1 “Fan” page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/givejust1org/38280398601
As of this writing 76 fans!

There is also a group page on MySpace and I have no idea how to enhance it: http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupid=107680300&Mytoken=356B1277-C6FD-42AC-B012CE134B7EF029418461293


On the Facebook GiveJust1 Group page there are also virtual event pages. This is day 1 of 100 so that means the virtual wave starts in California. Tomorrow, Thursday the 22nd, is also a GiveJust1 California day. So if you are in California this is where you stand up and raise your hands. If you’re not in California, cheer your Californian friends on! Tell your California friends about the GiveJust1 idea to give a day of service, especially between now and the 30th of April. The GiveJust1 ripple wave will focus on Nevada next for two days, and then Utah after that.

Yes, we scheduled two focus days for every state. In a perfect world, California’s First Lady Maria Shriver would be sharing some ideas about volunteering with us. Then Dawn Gibbons from Nevada and Mary Kaye Huntsman from Utah could also share some words of encouragement or talk about a service cause that they care about. If any of you are BFFs with a First Lady, a First Gentleman or a First Dude (there is more than one of these by the way), please share the GiveJust1 idea with them. We would love to hear some ideas and inspirational words from them! So the ripple schedule works across the middle of the country over to Virginia and then like an old typewriter it starts over again in Arizona and works across the southern states. The Northern states are saved for the later part of the 100 days to hold out for warmer weather. If you look at all the state “spirit” events you’ll see that we held Michigan and Louisiana out to be the last four days of the 100. We did this just in case we could create a groundswell of volunteer spirit that could then be directed at Detroit and then New Orleans – two communities in huge need these days.

So go GiveJust1 California!! Nevada, you’re next!



Okay, Day 1 questions. These are the things I ponder, and in case any of you can help answer them, please shoot me your answers with all possible speed.

How can I get people to share pictures from their service experience on the GiveJust1 pages?

Is it possible to physically go to every one of the states to give a day of service with you in your state?

How does one go about getting a Detroit automaker to loan a couple of hybrid vehicles for the conceptual GiveJust1 Service tour?

So anyway, it was a regular Wednesday. Today I thought about two people and their Wednesdays: The President who had an incredibly different Wednesday than previous Wednesdays, and David Valle, who I met on Monday. David is a resident and graduate of the Los Angeles Mission. He is also employed by the Mission as a Food Production Cook. I imagine that he had a regular Wednesday, too. Both men are serving others, and like you, they are doing their part to make a difference. Both are dependent on people like you stepping up to volunteer, and if you are already volunteering, then you can inspire and motivate others to do so by sharing your story.

Thanks for throwing your pebble in the pond. Together we can make a wave!

Day 1 of 100. Thank you! ~Richard

PS: I am challenging myself to visit a hospice facility tomorrow in California, because even though I’m still reluctant/afraid to go, I know I’m missing out on some amazing opportunities. Ignorance is not bliss. If you have any words of experience about volunteering for a hospice, please share your thoughts with me and the group. I am trying to learn about service opportunities too.

PPS: Also I was very happy for my friends from the Democrat party as they celebrated the inauguration yesterday. I was also very, very proud of my Republican friends who showed great dignity and respect for our country. People from all parties and from many countries are sharing the GiveJust1 message, and together we will make a difference.