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The Success of the Bluebills
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How much is our hour of volunteer labor worth? The estimate for 2003 is $17.19 an hour! Bluebills reported 76,000 hours of labor last year, and we know this is lower than actuals because so many of us don't bother to regularly report on our activities. However, using the 76,000 hour figure, we can declare that the value of our free labor to our communities at more than $1.2 million last year. We can be very proud of this achievement and what our service organization stands for.
This hourly figure is provided each year by Independent Sector, a nation-wide coalition of leading nonprofits, foundations and corporations. The figure is based on the average hourly earnings of all production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Independent Sector takes this figure and increases it by 12 percent to estimate for fringe benefits.
Companies like Boeing, with its corporate culture of encouraging employee volunteerism, use this annual estimate of donated labor to demonstrate how they enrich the communities where they operate, beyond providing jobs and economic vitality.
It should be noted that, in addition to the in-kind labor hours (76,000), we distribute gifts and materials to the community, schools and hospitals in the amount of $1 to $2 million annually.
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Drowning in their own success: At OlyPen chapter, our members are "drowning in their own success". The chapter concentrates much of its efforts at helping retirees stay in their own homes by performing carpentry jobs that make their homes safer and more accommodating to wheel chairs, etc. The team gets great reviews in the local media and the demand for service continues to grow. The problem is that they have 30 or so projects in a wide geographic area that ranges from Kitsap to Clallam counties. All the job orders come from local service agencies.
So, in order to entice and train new workers, they are putting on a projects coordination seminar June 29 at Port Ludlow. Myron Vogt extends an open invitation to anyone interested in learning more about how they do this work
Entitled the "Independent Living Program Seminar," the agenda will include managing the program, common project design and construction, agency partnerships, funding and insurance and recruiting team members. Each attendee will receive a manual produced by the chapter and get a free lunch. Hours are 9:30 - 1 p.m. Call Myron by June 23 at 360- 437-4055 or email him at vogt@cablespeed.com.
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| Bellevue Community College: Bob Lambert and I participated in a new program with BCC. We conducted mock interviews with 8 BCC students on May 17th. The mock interview process is to familiarize the students with the real world of applying for and interviewing for a job in industry. The students and the administrators were provided with recommendations for process improvements. This is the first of a number of possible projects with BCC in hopes of attracting more volunteer involvement on the eastside. Eastside retirees that wish to support this effort can contact me at mervshetler@comcast.net or 425-643-7402. |
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| Kids in Need Resource Center Will Need Your Help: Next year KIN will expand its school participation to 155 schools from 104 this year. This is due to lowering the qualifying schools from 70% to 62% subsidized lunches levels. The new schools will be from all over the Puget Sound region. New principals to the program will be invited to a September introductory meeting. The 155 school level is going to be a challenge for the volunteers in this area and will probably need to increase our level of support. |
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Save the dates: October 4-7. Bluebills and retirees from Mesa have been invited to join the St. Louis Sages at their annual social. This year it will be at Missouri's Trout Lake near Potosi, Mo., a YMCA lodge in the Eastern Ozarks.
The planned events are numerous, offering something for everyone. Those who have been to Sages events know how well they are planned, designed to take full advantage of the opportunity to mix and mingle. The cost for this Ozark Rendezvous is $242 per person, which includes three nights lodging and all meals from Monday through Thursday. Such a deal.
See More information and a picture of the Lodge at our Bluebills Voyagers page.
To check out the Trout Lodge website see www.ymcaoftheozarks.org/Family/Activities
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| Elsewhere in this site you can see:
Mighty Movers. A group from our Sno-King chapter has been helping people move for years. It's time to tell their unsung story.
Create Your Own Reality Show. Bob Lee's piece about getting involved in High School senior projects ("Culminating Exhibitions") as a panelist. He talks about the SnoKing schools, but this will be a statewide mandate by 2008.
Chapter meetings and information programs for the members.
Volunteer opportunities.
Bluebill Voyagers
including our newst feature, Nancy Wright's moving account and pictures of her visit to China in October 2003.
Reference information sites for seniors.
We are always ready to publicize Bluebills. Please, if you come away from a volunteer assignment that leaves you with an unusually warm fuzzy feeling, think about sharing that experience with all of us. It's worth its weight in gold, recruitment-wise. It will also help us get recognition from Boeing executive offices. Alert your chapter chair, or email Nancy Wright (nancylwright@earthlink.net) or Mike Yanega (myanega@bowfinprintworks.com). And don't forget good pictures.
And finally, let me ask you to critique our efforts. Tell us what you want, what interests you and how you use the information we provide or could provide. The unique age of electronic communication offers us the ability to make rapid updates and changes
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