Oh the irony of checking in with a past student while the office soundtrack was for Mason Jennings, and my only album of his was "Minnesota." Sometimes, being away from Minnesota is hard. I am away from a number of people that I love! And while I'm completely immersed in the work I am doing here, I still try to keep in mind the people who touched my life in my work in Northfield last year.
In the past week, one of the students I worked with some last year, who has a good heart, did something stupid and got arrested, and another told me about how he is trying to save up money for college, but it's hard on $7 an hour. He still told me he hopes to go back to school, asked me what schools are like in Arizona, and told me to stay smart and safe.
I told him, "You have a huge heart and inspire me. I hope people can see your heart in whatever you do!"
"Thank you. Means a lot from you, like I said before you're one of the smartest people I know."
Even though I am away in Arizona, Northfield's TORCH program and its amazing students are still in my heart!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Giving What I Got
One of my biggest struggles living on a small stipend which will basically go to bills and food this year will to not be able to financially support organizations and people that are struggling and/or are doing good work. I get a flood of emails every day from organizations to stay updated on their work, and while I would love to give even $10, this year I have to choose even more judiciously what and who I can support financially. Which is why it breaks my heart further when things happen like today.
When I was biking home from church, I stopped at a stop sign to turn left onto a busy street, and to my right was a large group of family members and friends putting on a carwash in the parking lot. A couple teenage boys called out to jokingly ask if I wanted my bike washed. Rain does that well enough for me (when we have it). But the traffic was still flowing, so three elementary-age girls ran over to me to follow up on the boys' question, and ask if I'd just consider making a donation. I asked, "For what?" "Our uncle." Now this is making assumptions, but that would most likely either mean their uncle is sick or in detention for an immigration violation and is hoping to get bonded out. (The Southside Worker Center actually does hold carwashes to raise money to pay bonds for their community workers who get detained so that they can be free and working while they await the decision of their deportation case). In either scenario, these little girls, this whole family, is missing their tío, and they are working so hard for him in his time of need.
Today I could pull out the only cash I had, a $5 bill, and nudge that family a tiny bit closer to ensuring the health and wellbeing of their tío. However, my intentional community in my house is pooling together all of our living stipends to pay the bills and meet our nutritional needs the best we can, and as we haven't paid a month of bills yet and are unsure what a month's worth of groceries for five mouths between Safeway, Food City, Food Conspiracy co-op, and the Community Food Bank will look like, we do not know how much money we'll have left over at the end of the month (for other things, like you know, bike equipment, vitamins, maybe fun things out on the town etc.). There are going to be countless scenarios this year where individuals, families, and organizations call out for monetary support, and in the case of individuals and families on the streets, the question of dependency and how much good you are actually doing is always tricky to navigate. So again, when my heart is broken and I want to support another's mission, on a simple living stipend, financial support is not a simple act.
But just like everyone else who doesn't have much money to their name, when I am not be able to give financially, I can give my heart and my time. Time is also a privilege to have, though, because I do not have to exhaustingly work two jobs just to put food on the table for my family. Therefore I should be exhaustingly working for others to have more opportunities for decent, humane, good work that can provide for them and their families.
When I was biking home from church, I stopped at a stop sign to turn left onto a busy street, and to my right was a large group of family members and friends putting on a carwash in the parking lot. A couple teenage boys called out to jokingly ask if I wanted my bike washed. Rain does that well enough for me (when we have it). But the traffic was still flowing, so three elementary-age girls ran over to me to follow up on the boys' question, and ask if I'd just consider making a donation. I asked, "For what?" "Our uncle." Now this is making assumptions, but that would most likely either mean their uncle is sick or in detention for an immigration violation and is hoping to get bonded out. (The Southside Worker Center actually does hold carwashes to raise money to pay bonds for their community workers who get detained so that they can be free and working while they await the decision of their deportation case). In either scenario, these little girls, this whole family, is missing their tío, and they are working so hard for him in his time of need.
Today I could pull out the only cash I had, a $5 bill, and nudge that family a tiny bit closer to ensuring the health and wellbeing of their tío. However, my intentional community in my house is pooling together all of our living stipends to pay the bills and meet our nutritional needs the best we can, and as we haven't paid a month of bills yet and are unsure what a month's worth of groceries for five mouths between Safeway, Food City, Food Conspiracy co-op, and the Community Food Bank will look like, we do not know how much money we'll have left over at the end of the month (for other things, like you know, bike equipment, vitamins, maybe fun things out on the town etc.). There are going to be countless scenarios this year where individuals, families, and organizations call out for monetary support, and in the case of individuals and families on the streets, the question of dependency and how much good you are actually doing is always tricky to navigate. So again, when my heart is broken and I want to support another's mission, on a simple living stipend, financial support is not a simple act.
But just like everyone else who doesn't have much money to their name, when I am not be able to give financially, I can give my heart and my time. Time is also a privilege to have, though, because I do not have to exhaustingly work two jobs just to put food on the table for my family. Therefore I should be exhaustingly working for others to have more opportunities for decent, humane, good work that can provide for them and their families.
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