Power of Collaboration

When I was a child there was a rhyme that my 4th Grade teacher taught our class. It went something like this, “If we all pull together, together, together … if we all pull together, how happy we’ll be!” Yesterday, I reflected upon a pull together kind of day. Not long ago, a sister agency faced an operational crisis. Twenty-five men in a supportive housing situation were suddenly faced with being homeless. What to do? Shelters are full. What to do? Three colleagues said, “We will not let each other or the community down.” We decided to “live united.” The result was interesting. Strangers suddenly became friends. Client needs outweighed agency boundaries. Collaboration, old fashioned sharing, and a lack of selfishness ruled the day. The value of 25 men became the focus and they won. But, not only those 25 men, but the community won. There was no rancor. There was no shouting. There was no “look what we’ve got and what you don’t have.” There was only one clear, sustaining goal … keep those 25 men from becoming homeless! They won. While the actions of this community caring and good didn’t make the news or will not be reported in local papers, it really was news that makes a difference. As the sun set over downtown Atlanta and the little Gateway Center bus rolled along Auburn Avenue and Peachtree Street, you could hear — if you listened very closely — the heart-voices and wheels of the bus singing, “If we all pull together, together, together … If we all pull together, how happy we’ll be!” I suspect that we will have a chance to do this all again, on an even larger scale. This was a practice run. But, I hear my heart saying the song of collaboration will be sung.

Volunteer Magic Power

       It is a Monday night at the Gateway Center, following a fortnight of growing overflow of woman and children. The numbers soared like a jet taking flight. Mats on the floor are rule of the day. Near 100 women and children on the mats, on the concrete floor. We are now seeing scores of new women and their children come through the doors seeking services, employment, housing, escape from abusers, and new starts. They share two things in common: they are all homeless and they are all seeking a path out of homelessness. For most, hope has dimmed; almost vanished. There are not limitless resources in the community and the overflow of women and children has become part of daily life at the Gateway Center. The national economic meltdown has contributed significantly to the growing numbers. Evictions and job loss remain common place. New stresses ultimately fracture families. The persons that come to the Gateway Center are the first to feel the impact of the nation’s financial crisis, and sadly, will be the last the experience its recovery. These are tenuous days! These are stretched days, and not only for the Gateway Center but for many nonprofits in our community.
But, in the midst of the community crisis and tsunami of humanity that comes through the “gates” every day, there was a glimmer of normalcy and subtle ray of hope on this Monday night. It is a bit like seeing magic. Four volunteers arrive with their bags of magic tricks — books, art supplies, flashcards, worksheets … and large smiles and open hearts. They have spent the day working at their school. They all have experienced a long, long day already. They all have family responsibilities waiting for them. But, for a moment 25 school-age children experienced normalcy in the midst of the chaos that accompanies homelessness.
The volunteers did their magic. The children gathered around tables. Volunteers called the children by their own name. Artwork emerged. Flash card drills in math and English popped like Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn in a microwave! Children from first grade through tenth grade were laughing, smiling, working, cooperating, and sharing. For a moment, these were not homeless children, they were simply children. Children having fun. Children learning. Children experiencing the personal impact that comes when experiencing — and knowing up-close and personal — the feelings of value and having worth.
How did it happen, this transformation? It was volunteer magic power! It was the result of someone caring to share their most valuable of possessions … time, energy, and self. It was caring hearts reaching into fractured hearts and bringing wholeness and healing. What a different world we would have if everyday we experienced just a fraction of that Monday night magic. It truly was a holy moment! Some called it a Monday night. I called it Monmagicday night!
Thank you Kathy, Wendy, Karen, and Beth! You make magic! You have volunteer magic power! I am so grateful. The children are grateful. The Gateway Center is grateful. Hey, friends, come make some magic at the Gateway Center, like these four magicians!

Reflections Into the Night

Reflectivness may be in my Irish DNA. Or, it may be a result of seeping into more of life, as one gets older. Like many others, I become more reflective as the years pass. Of course, I have more to reflect upon with each passing day. Some reflections bring tears, others a chuckle. Some, simply a sigh. Today has been a day of reflections wrapped in the unknown of the future. It is the gloaming. I like the gloaming hour. The light of day is captured gently by the darkness of night. The race is on, but we know that night will win. There is a stillness that ushers in a quiet peace. Shadows linger and then fade into the growing darkness of eventide. We wait. We wait and wait. We wait for the breaking, crashing light of morning. New images await that will bring new moments of reflection. I reflect … and think of you. Thank you for sharing this blog journey with me. You are caught in my reflections. I am grateful.