Change the World
Do you remember that great Alvin Lee & Ten Years After song, “I’d Love to Change the World (But I Don’t Know What to Do)”? The one with that incredible guitar solo? Well, I know what to do. I have worked in areas of rural poverty in the United States. I was in Haiti, after the earthquake. As a Red Cross certified, UMCOR / NYAC-certified Emergency Response Team member, I worked on hurricane relief — three times. I was a teacher and counselor for Women in Transition. I was a counselor for the Summer Educational Opportunity Program that helped integrate inner city students to college life. I was appointed and subsequently reappointed to three five-year terms on the Ethics Commission, which I chaired. I was Corporate Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors of Children’s Services of Central Iowa, a non-profit agency delivering health care, day care, and nutrition services to a six-county area. I chaired its Long-Range Planning Committee and represented the agency in public hearings. I was cited three times for special recognition by Muscular Dystrophy Association.
There’s not much glory in it, but I can honestly say that I’ve made a difference, however small. It’s what I do.
It’s time to change the world. Really. It’s time.
Current Projects
My work has been greatly curtailed by the pandemic. I have to face the reality that my “hands-on” days are strictly limited. Still, there remains much to be done behind the scenes. My current projects include:
- Haiti Relief
- Mexican Normalization
- Hurricane Relief
- The Hamden Resettlement Project
- Women in Transtion