Getting involved causes change

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

When I returned to Salinas in 2002, after spending 14 years completing college and climbing the corporate ladder in Sacramento, New York and Atlanta, I felt like a total stranger here. But, it didn’t take long for our community leaders looking for volunteers to find me, figure out I’ll almost always say “yes” when asked for help, then rope me in like a calf at Big Week. And I’m so glad!

Becoming active in our chosen hometown and knowing we’re making a difference are the main reasons my husband and I decided to give up the glamorous, big-city life and move here. OK, the clean air and no traffic also helped. But now, our professional and social lives are more fulfilling, fun and optimistic than ever – for many reasons. But mostly because of the friends and colleagues we’ve met through volunteering, and the awesome satisfaction we’ve gained from participating in helping make Salinas a great place to live. These are significant contributors to a good quality of life, that can be much more difficult to achieve in a major city.

I’ll be discussing lots of community topics in this column, but it’s an experience volunteering with the city Communications Committee that I want to share first, because I had a revelation at one of our meetings.

The mayor and several council members were telling the committee about how they were being contacted by folks who were upset by the spikes in violence and wanted to do something about it. People were angry and frustrated, but they weren’t calling to complain – they were calling to ask, “What can I do to help?”

Wow! That’s so inspiring! And if some people were calling to ask, a bunch of others were thinking the same thing, but didn’t realize how or who to call. Well, the simple answer is “get involved.” Coach soccer, tutor math, teach painting or photography or cooking or computer skills. Deliver meals, read stories, chaperone field trips, bring a group to the beach. Play catch, lead a group hike, organize a walking club.

I realize “get involved” is not a direct and immediate way to resolve a city’s crime issues. But it is a direct and immediate way to improve quality of life – your own and the those with whom you get involved. And I’m certain in the long run, regardless of how much money is spent on growing the police force or expanding social and recreational services, those efforts cannot succeed in keeping our kids out of gangs, mitigating the violence, and turning Salinas into a more desirable place to call home if we don’t participate. It is up to us to turn our community into the type of place in which we want to live, through the arts, sports, education, recreation and business.

So my revelation at that meeting was: People don’t know how to get involved and they don’t know what to do. They were calling and asking!

One of the committee’s ideas was to develop a tool kit full of simple ways to get involved, even for people who don’t have a lot of time and can’t make a long-term commitment. I have hopes that the tool kit will be created, but in the meantime, here are a few resources:

• Salinas Volunteer Services Department, 758-7382. They can tell you about openings for literacy and homework tutors, Animal Shelter volunteers, helpers for park cleanup, events and more.
• Volunteer Center of United Way Monterey County partners with nonprofits to match volunteers with meaningful community service. Online: www.volunteermontereycounty.org or call 757-3206.
• Neighborhood Watch. Call the Police Department at 758-7236. If you have one, participate in the meetings, use the signage and stickers and keep it active.
• Go to one of your city district’s community outreach events. Call your council member for details. Online: www.ci.salinas.ca.us/.
• Organize a block party, take a group of kids to the Steinbeck Center or the movies or the Aquarium, throw a barbecue and get to know the people you see pulling in and out of their garage everyday.
• If you already volunteer, recruit your neighbors and friends and co-workers and family to get involved, too. It takes personal, hands-on involvement to make change happen.

What can you do to help?