Jack of All Trades: January

When you think about volunteering you really have a handful of reactions to it. You are really into the whole idea of it and want to change the world, or you are unsure of it all together. There are exceptions to this. If you are really into something and you have a chance to help out you get really excited. Like me and the Tennessee Theatre. I have volunteered with them more times in the last two years than doing anything else. I am always really excited to help them out. Everyone else it's a bit hard. So, this whole year of volunteering at other places is a little intimidating.

Looking to all of the different places to help out was fun... actually stepping out of your comfort zone in order to do that is a different story. To be honest I really thought that this is going to be one of those things that Nikki and I always say we are going to do and never actually do. So, far I was wrong.

I am not sure if I have ever really mentioned Nikki on here. If I have it's been a little bit. I actually met her when I volunteered to walk in a Fight Against Cancer Marathon that my work was signing us up for. She signed up to and we both lagged behind in the back because we don't do running or jogging.

This is Nikki! This is us at the Josh Turner concert last month. We always have a good time when we are together and we see lots of movies and do lots of random things!

Anyways, we actually did it. We each picked out one organization or volunteer to help out in some way to each month of the year and we have finished out first month.

The first one we did for the month is Knoxville Dream Food Truck. I never really heard about them until we signed up. Knoxville Dream Center is in charge of the truck. They have been a non profit in our area for over 30 years. They feed the homeless every Wednesday night, and they have not missed a Wednesday in that 30 year span either. This branch with the food truck is a way to bring food to people in lower income families to help them to get healthy options every week. It's was super easy to sign up and there wasn't a need for a training program. We got there and we ended up being the only people who were able to make it who volunteered. The other people had some family emergencies. However, the Director of Operations was the one who drove the truck to the venue, and told us what to do and we helped him to get everything set up. He was really friendly and nice, and he was really passionate about what he was doing. He stayed a little while after we were done and answered all of our questions that we had. He even opened the truck back up when someone showed up a little late wanting food. He hopped right in and got him whatever he wanted.

He gave us a little bit of the history and how everything the with feeding the homeless and the food truck worked and it was a really great first pick for us to do! It really did get up excited about the rest of the year. What was also great were the people who were getting the food. Most everyone had been through the line before so they knew what the rules were, and what was going to happen. We just talked to them helped them to pick our their food options, and we just smiled and helped out where we could. It was really nice to see people get excited about fresh tomatoes and bread.

The other organization that we helped out with the Ronald McDonald House. This is one place that Nikki and I have helped with before. I did it during Girl Scouts and she did it with work. She called them and they said they didn't need any physical help at the moment but they were always taking donations. She asked them what the biggest need was and it was really good trash bags, to my utter shock. I never thought of trash bags being a really big need.

The donation part of doing this was something I thought was going to be hard. I always thing of donating as having to be something really big and crazy. Like raising thousands of dollars, or donating hundreds of your own. I learned that is not the case. Doing what you can really makes all of the different. I spent like 20 bucks and bought two boxes of the really good Heafty trash bags and a small thing of snacks and that was it. Nikki also go the same trash bags and some pots and pans. None of this was really expensive, or the crazy big gesture, and the coordinator was excited about all of it just the same.

After we went to the Ronald McDonald House we spent the rest of the night hanging out. We got to talking about how excited we are and how these two things really helped people and it didn't take hardly any time or any money. The Food Truck took 1 whole hour of our day and the donations cost us $20 each. We have gotten so much out of it already without putting a whole heck of a lot into it! It's really surprising for me so far and we have our next two places lined up for the next to weekends!


Anyways, I am not sure who reads this, if anyone, but Volunteering/ Donating are way less time consuming than you think. Just do a little bit of research, and change someone's day. This is where I turn this into an infomercial: If you want more information about these organizations see the links below!

Knoxville Dream Center:
https://www.knoxvilledreamcenter.org/

Ronald McDonald Houses:
 https://www.rmhc.org/

New Challenges Accepted

The year of 2020 is already shaping up to be one to go down in the History Book, and we are only in the start of February. January was crazy busy so trying to do anything for the challenges I have set before this year was proving to be a feat. While, I am still busy even this whole week, I have finally been able to play catch up, and to finally say what the goals for this year are. 

I will actually be doing two challenges again this year. I only did the one last year cause I am not a huge fan of reading and I knew that was going to take a while. In the last years I have done challenges that have a Wizard of Oz theme.. sort of. Basically, I started doing this before I new what I was doing and ended up becoming a running theme. The first year was the Year of Review, which I thought was going to be Guidance which I thought was going to remind me of Glinda the Good Which. However, the more I thought about it the more it was the Heart. It's what I loved doing. I have always loved going to the movie theater and watching movies. The next was the Best Picture Challenge which was Guidance of movies by watching all of the Best Pictures. That one ended up being the year the represented Glinda the Good Witch. Then it was the Year of Courage, which of course is the Cowardly Lion. Then last year was the Year of Learning which is the Scarecrow. 

This year is called the Jack of All Trades because it's the year that will represent Frank Morgan's character in the film. He played the Doorman, Carriage Man, and the Guard in all of the Emerald City scenes.(He also plays The Wizard and Professor Marvel but they get their own year later.) Since these characters in the film show helping others and putting them first, like breaking the word of the Wizard in order to get Dorothy and her friends in to see him. So, the name Jack of All Trades is to pay homage to Frank Morgan's characters, but do also help to show how my friend Nikki Day and I will be putting other first.

Nikki Day and I have chosen 12 Volunteer opportunities each to do this year. So, every month we will be doing two activities to help others, or to help non-profits, or to raise money. Anything to help basically. Her and I both have very busy schedules and full plates all the time, so doing a regularly scheduled volunteering is really hard for us. So, going to all these places and helping out for a few hours or buying things they really need is easier for us. We also get to help in many different parts of the community and see more needs than just staying focused on one. 

We did do the first two already, however, I am going to make that a separate post a little later this week. We already have February's and March's set up to go! It's already been rewarding and we have found other ways to volunteer more, so I think we will be doing more than 24, but we will just have to wait and see how the year goes!

The other challenge that I will be doing is going to be one that I will not be getting done in a years time. I have decided to take on the task of watching all the movies that I own. Yes, all 347 of them. That's what I have at this moment I promise you I will have more by the end of the year. I am doing this because I have tons of movies that I have not gotten to enjoy in a while, and others that I have never seen. Yes, I own movies I have never watched because some of the movies that I wanted came in a movie collection. Since these movies are all going to keep me at home watching them they represent, you guessed it, Dorothy. That will be called "No Place Like Movies at Home". Long title I know but I just had to. I am excited to get started but my busy life has prevented that from happening thus far. Since I have so many I will not be done with this one anytime soon, so those updates are going to be sporadic. So, be looking out for those I guess. 

Hopefully, I will get life to slow down just a tiny bit so I can gather my thoughts and get everything organized. Wish me luck until then...