media mention: united way of king county blog

Friday afternoon thanks are in order for Erica at United Way of King County for writing and sharing this amazing blog post about yours truly and The Global Citizen Project. Read A Global Citizen: Charyn’s Volunteer Spirit Knows No Bounds here.  I met Erica last spring while volunteering at Marra Farms during National Volunteer Week (coming up in April!) and have turned to United Way of King County many times since for volunteer inspiration. Erica truly "gets" what I'm doing and I am thanksful to her for capturing it so eloquently. This blog post made my week! Thank you.

national volunteer week

Whew. There’s a lot going on this week. It’s National Volunteer Week (April 18-24), which I honored today by volunteering a few (far too fast) hours at Marra Farm Giving Garden in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle via the United Way of King County. My county’s United Way chapter works closely with Solid Ground, an organization that provides shelter, food, home care, transportation and other basic services to more than 38,000 families and individuals in need throughout King County. Under the aegis of Solid Ground and several other organizations, the four acre Marra Farm engages people in sustainable agriculture and education (of all ages) while enhancing local food security. (The food grown at Marra Farm goes to local residents and the senior lunch program through the Providence Regina House Food Bank, Mien senior citizens, and Concord Elementary School students and their families.) To get an idea of how much this little four acre plot contributes to the local community, consider this: In 2009, more than 1,400 volunteers contributed over 6,200 hours to help us grow more than 16,000 pounds at Marra Farm. Wow.

Marra Farm also has one heckuva fascinating history. First of all, it is one of only two historical farms preserved with Seattle city limits (the other being Picardo Farm in Wedgwood, Seattle). It was operated from the early 1900s until the 1970s by the Marra family, until they sold it to King County Parks and Recreation under the premise that the parcel must remain open space. The land got very little love until the immigrant neighborhood residents joined efforts, along with a VISTA volunteer to kickstart restoration efforts in the late 1990s.

Big thanks to Marra Farm Coordinator, Sue McGann for being such an amazing ambassador of the land and of farming and for reminding us to honor the farmers who grow our food and to always support our farmers' markets. You made me leave Marra Farms yearning to return and get my hands back in the dirt to play some small part of the bigger picture. Also, thank you Erica and Yuri of United Way of King County for coordinating this volunteer opportunity and for throwing free Seattle Mariners tickets into the mix to sweeten the already satisfying deal. I look forward to working with all of you again. (Be still my volunteer lovin' heart.)

A quick side note also in the volunteering vein. I'd like to thank Sarah Van Auken of Volunteer Global for the nice mention of The Global Citizen Project's fundraising efforts in her "Fundraising for Your Volunteer Trip" blog post. Sarah's been an incredible supporter of my project and a fantastic proponent of volunteer travel and I'm so very glad this gal is on my team. She rocks.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there this week and do something for the world already. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare, between National Volunteer Week and Earth Day (coincidentally, my birthday), there are oodles of volunteer opportunities this week. Go make a difference. (Because I know you can.)

resume builder: adult cpr and first aid at seattle area american red cross

This week, I did one of the best things I’ve done for myself (and my community) in quite some time. I got certified in Adult CPR and First Aid at my local Seattle Area American Red Cross. Sure, I travel like a girl scout with a well-stocked first aid kit, but I hadn’t taken CPR since high school (hello, 1991 graduate!) and what did I really know about first aid beyond bug bites, blisters and Bandaids? Thankfully, I’ve never had a major medical emergency while traveling. Home has been a different story, as I’ve faced everything from a head-on collision and E.coli, Edwardsiella Tarda and Plesiomonas Shigelloides to a bevy of broken bones – but nothing that modern medicine couldn’t (eventually) fix. The intestinal critters were pretty gnarly, but I’ll spare you the details.

Friday morning, I woke up at an hour rarely seen by this late-night gal and schlepped to the American Red Cross facility that serves both King and Kitsap Counties in South Seattle. Of the 11 students, I was the only one not taking the class as a work requirement. I was semi-surprised and kind of wished there had been more people taking the course on their volition. (I’m all about the unofficial, non-college credit earning world of continuing education.) My Adult CPR and First Aid class was taught by the deft duo of Ryan and Tracy, both of whom volunteered their time to teach the all-day class. You couldn’t ask for better teachers, and their enthusiasm and ability of convey information clearly was not lost on me. I’m gonna defy everything you probably think about such courses and dare say, that I actually had a lot of fun. We spent the day learning the almighty Emergency Action Steps (Check, Call, Care), how to perform chest compressions and CPR, how to respond to conscious and unconscious choking, telltale signs of stroke, heart attacks, as well as a ton of practical first aid information, including how to splint and sling an injury and treat heat and cold-related injuries.

Originally, I signed up for this class thinking it may come in handy while traveling in places far from modern medical facilities, but walked out feeling like my newfound knowledge could come in handy at anytime, in any place. I cannot recommend this course enough and feel confident that I picked up enough skills in this one-day course to help save someone’s life in a wide variety of emergency scenarios. As soon as I got home, I hopped online to see what other courses my local American Red Cross offered and admit, I’m seriously considering upping my training education. The whole point of The Global Citizen Project is to give back and help others, and the more health and safety skills I have in my personal toolbox, the better equipped I’ll be as a global citizen – both near and far. Thank you American Red Cross, for offering such courses to the community, for making them accessible at a reasonable price, and for offering flexible schedules.