"Don't live in anybody's shadows or dreams. If you have a dream, act on it, and it will probably come true."
I can't believe how fast this month has gone by; it's nearly the end of September and I'm sure you may be thinking that I still haven't fulfilled my "goal" of participating in 2 community service events per month. Well, I'm very excited to tell you about my newest endeavor. After several phone calls, and talking with friends about various opportunities in the area, I have been fortunate enough to find something that is the perfect match for me. I am, and will be volunteering 2 days/week at 2 different food pantries, and have already experience my first dinner service. One of the meal center's I am volunteering at is Cor Unum Meal Center, in Lawrence, MA serving meals from 4-7pm. I went in this past Monday night, and had the most wonderful experience. Myself, along with about 20 other volunteers served over 600 people living in the Lawrence area, who are not able to provide meals for themselves, or their families. The experience surpassed all my expectations in so many ways.
To start off, I was responsible for serving meals to 2 tables of 6-8 individuals, busing those tables, and repeating for the next group of 8 throughout the entire evening. In my previous (1 day) experience at a soup kitchen, individuals came in and stood in a buffet line, as volunteers served a specific food onto their tray. While both of these styles are very effective and beneficial to the community, in my most recent experience, I felt that I really had the opportunity to talk to these individuals and families coming in. I was serving their specific needs, while allowing them to sit at a table and enjoy a meal. At this meal center people coming in are offered endless drinks, and meals....no limitations.....which absolutely amazed me. The amount of food it takes to feed 600+ people (times however many meals they want) is remarkable. It really made me realize why these food pantries and meal centers need all the donations that they can get. Furthermore it made me appreciate the daily options that I get when deciding what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was also really taken back by the people I met; both the volunteers and the individuals coming in for meals. People coming in very so friendly and appreciative for the meals, and all the services they were being provided with.....some maybe a little too friendly; as someone left their number for me, with intentions of going on a date! The fellow volunteers were so welcoming and helpful in orienting me to the center; they were willing to help me out and answer all the questions that I had. The other meal center I will be volunteering at does 6-week rotations, so I will be going in for orientation the first week of October, and I will fill you in as I starting helping out.
As far as the walks go, I will be walking in the Autism Speaks 1 mile walk in Boston this upcoming Sunday, September 26th. I am still hoping to reach my goal of $150, as I am about 1/3 of the way there. If you want to donate here's the website http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/greaterboston/rebeccamccabe; any donation is greatly appreciated. I have also found a local walk, the Fall Festival for Cancer Walk on October 2nd right here in Lowell, that I have signed up for. I will be walking in this event in honor of my Opa, and Aunt who both passed away from battles with cancer. Once again I will be fund-raising for this event, and seeing as this is a last minute walk I have set a goal of raising $50.00. This event does not have an attached website to donate to, however if you are interested in donating feel free to contact me via e-mail: Rebecca.McCabe1@gmail.com as I will create a pledge sheet that I turn in the day of the event.
Now, for my last update......very brief........for those of you who know me and my picky eating habits, you'll be happy and possibly shocked to learn that I have stepped (a little bit) out of my shell. Thanks to the wonderful and healthy cookbooks Hungry Girl I have discovered some new recipes....my personal favorite the guacamole dip! Yes, you've heard me right, GUACAMOLE DIP....this coming from the girl who never ate avocado's, tomatoes,or funky spices.........but its happened, I've explored a little out of my "norm" and found a wonderfully healthy topping/dip to many meals. Some other personal favorites include; chicken salad, chicken pot pie, meaty thin crust pizza, cinnamon rolls, and spinach artichoke dip. I'll hopefully be testing out some more recipes and I'll keep you posted with my explorations.
Well, I'll update you about the walk, and hopefully I'll have some more pictures to share with you. As always, feedback is more than welcome. Hope to hear from you all, and take care.
Love,
Bec
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Start to the New Year
"You can't accomplish anything worthwhile if you inhibit yourself. If life teaches you nothing else, know this for sure: When you get the chance, go for it."--Oprah Winfrey
Yes, I know its been a while since my posting, I just haven't had much to update on until now. As many of you know today was my first walk....the Walk for Scleroderma, and it was a huge success. The walk was a 5K with about 350 people participating. Since I wasn't walking with a team I decided to use this walk as a training day by running the distance as opposed to walking. I quickly learned that this was not unusual; there were probably about 50-75 people who decided to run the walk as well. My first smart decision was purchasing an application on my phone that informs me of the distance I have completed and the pace I'm running at, while playing music throughout the run.....a huge motivation to keep me running throughout the race. The course was fairly hilly and my worst nightmare almost came true.....as I was approaching an intersection, I saw the arrow for the direction to continue walking, and it seemed to be pointing to the right, however in typical Rebecca fashion I was over-analyzing this sign and being indecisive regarding which way I needed to go.....I was thinking; maybe the sign was signaling me to go around a round-a-bout. I went ahead and made the complete right, but to make sure I was going in the correct direction I jogged (VERY SLOWLY) up the hill continually checking behind me to make sure that people followed the same route that I was taking, until I was able to see another sign. Now.......you may be asking yourself, why didn't I just follow the people in front me..........well, that's the exciting news......I was the FIRST girl to finish the walk/run and third overall (the 2 guys finishing in front of me were never in my sight)! Now, this wasn't a race so I wasn't competing against anyone, and I wasn't really trying to be the first girl, however after crossing the finish line I did feel a great sense of accomplishment. Following the walk, there was lunch served, raffle items, informational booths, as well as tables set-up to buy items in support of the foundation. I took my shot at a few raffles items, with no luck, but the overall experience was amazing. I tried to take some pictures of the crowd, but the pictures just don't do it justice.....but I'll share the one's I've captured with you. I was able to talk to the direction of this event and he is going to send me the pictures from the event once he receives the from the photographer, and I'll be sure to share them with you as soon as I receive them.
Like I said, it's really hard to capture the event with these pictures, but the day was wonderful. The route had beautiful scenery along the way, the weather was wonderful, and there were water tables set up along the way, as well as cops to help guide us in the right direction. I was also able to gather some information pamphlets, that I would love to share with anyone interested in learning more about Scleroderma.
Now, for some further updates: I believe I have found my community volunteer work. Typically for the Jewish Holiday's back home we are given a brown paper bag and asked to fill it up with canned goods that can help fill a food pantry; well it's no different out here then it is back home. This past Thursday was Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and I picked up this brown bag. On the brown bag were directions as to what to fill it with, as well as the name of the food pantry the bags will be going to. I decided to look up this food pantry online and see if I could volunteer to help with organizing these donations, and to my great surprise I found other volunteer opportunities. As I had been looking into before, this food pantry serves meals during the week as well as on the weekend......THE WEEKEND! Perfect! I have submitted a volunteer form as well as sent an e-mail to be able to help out on the weekends, and am anxiously awaiting their response.
I also would like to inform you that I have become a member of The Caitlin Raymond International Bone Marrow Registry. As I walked through the mall my attention was caught by this person with a bright blue wig trying to get people to register as a donor with little luck. I decided to stop by the booth and gather some information, and soon after I become a registered donor. It was so simple.....a little q-tip swipe on the cheek and filling out a little form, and I now have the potential to make a difference in someone's life. Although the chances of matching are only 1 in 30,000 I know that it can make a significant impact in the life of that "1" who needs help. Here's the website for this registry, and if you're interested you can find a location near-by that you can become a registered donor too: http://www.crir.org/.
Well, the next walk is fast approaching: September 26th, the Walk for Autism. In my previous post you can find the information for that walk, as well as the fund-raising that I am doing for that. If would like to come out for the walk, I'm sure it will be another wonderful day. Take care till next time I post.
Love,
Bec
Yes, I know its been a while since my posting, I just haven't had much to update on until now. As many of you know today was my first walk....the Walk for Scleroderma, and it was a huge success. The walk was a 5K with about 350 people participating. Since I wasn't walking with a team I decided to use this walk as a training day by running the distance as opposed to walking. I quickly learned that this was not unusual; there were probably about 50-75 people who decided to run the walk as well. My first smart decision was purchasing an application on my phone that informs me of the distance I have completed and the pace I'm running at, while playing music throughout the run.....a huge motivation to keep me running throughout the race. The course was fairly hilly and my worst nightmare almost came true.....as I was approaching an intersection, I saw the arrow for the direction to continue walking, and it seemed to be pointing to the right, however in typical Rebecca fashion I was over-analyzing this sign and being indecisive regarding which way I needed to go.....I was thinking; maybe the sign was signaling me to go around a round-a-bout. I went ahead and made the complete right, but to make sure I was going in the correct direction I jogged (VERY SLOWLY) up the hill continually checking behind me to make sure that people followed the same route that I was taking, until I was able to see another sign. Now.......you may be asking yourself, why didn't I just follow the people in front me..........well, that's the exciting news......I was the FIRST girl to finish the walk/run and third overall (the 2 guys finishing in front of me were never in my sight)! Now, this wasn't a race so I wasn't competing against anyone, and I wasn't really trying to be the first girl, however after crossing the finish line I did feel a great sense of accomplishment. Following the walk, there was lunch served, raffle items, informational booths, as well as tables set-up to buy items in support of the foundation. I took my shot at a few raffles items, with no luck, but the overall experience was amazing. I tried to take some pictures of the crowd, but the pictures just don't do it justice.....but I'll share the one's I've captured with you. I was able to talk to the direction of this event and he is going to send me the pictures from the event once he receives the from the photographer, and I'll be sure to share them with you as soon as I receive them.
 |
| Where the walk kicked off |
Like I said, it's really hard to capture the event with these pictures, but the day was wonderful. The route had beautiful scenery along the way, the weather was wonderful, and there were water tables set up along the way, as well as cops to help guide us in the right direction. I was also able to gather some information pamphlets, that I would love to share with anyone interested in learning more about Scleroderma.
Now, for some further updates: I believe I have found my community volunteer work. Typically for the Jewish Holiday's back home we are given a brown paper bag and asked to fill it up with canned goods that can help fill a food pantry; well it's no different out here then it is back home. This past Thursday was Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and I picked up this brown bag. On the brown bag were directions as to what to fill it with, as well as the name of the food pantry the bags will be going to. I decided to look up this food pantry online and see if I could volunteer to help with organizing these donations, and to my great surprise I found other volunteer opportunities. As I had been looking into before, this food pantry serves meals during the week as well as on the weekend......THE WEEKEND! Perfect! I have submitted a volunteer form as well as sent an e-mail to be able to help out on the weekends, and am anxiously awaiting their response.
I also would like to inform you that I have become a member of The Caitlin Raymond International Bone Marrow Registry. As I walked through the mall my attention was caught by this person with a bright blue wig trying to get people to register as a donor with little luck. I decided to stop by the booth and gather some information, and soon after I become a registered donor. It was so simple.....a little q-tip swipe on the cheek and filling out a little form, and I now have the potential to make a difference in someone's life. Although the chances of matching are only 1 in 30,000 I know that it can make a significant impact in the life of that "1" who needs help. Here's the website for this registry, and if you're interested you can find a location near-by that you can become a registered donor too: http://www.crir.org/.
Well, the next walk is fast approaching: September 26th, the Walk for Autism. In my previous post you can find the information for that walk, as well as the fund-raising that I am doing for that. If would like to come out for the walk, I'm sure it will be another wonderful day. Take care till next time I post.
Love,
Bec
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Keep Walking
"Don't worry about failure, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try."
Well, there's not too much new and exciting news since the last time I posted, I just wanted to give a brief update. With great excitement, I am pleased to announce that I have registered for my second walk.....Walk Now for Autism Speaks. It's on September 26th in East Boston, and is a 1 mile walk, with lots of fun and entertainment to follow. I've once again created a fund-raising page http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/greaterboston/rebeccamccabe , with a goal of raising $150. As you know I have already met my goal for my upcoming walk, and would love to succeed in meeting this goal as well. As I also mentioned before, raising awareness of Autism is important, and for those of you want to support this cause, and are unable to donate at this time, here's a link for you to learn a little more about autism, and help to educate others http://www.autismspeaks.org/ . This site also gives you information about walks near you, and ways to get involved in the community. For anyone interested in joining me in the walk, it is free to participate, and is also a shorter distance for those of you less comfortable with the longer distances.
As far as training goes.....well that took a little bit of a halt, since I went on vacation! I enjoyed a couple days in cape cod on the beach, and running just wasn't in the cards! Now I'm back, and will be getting right back to where I left off.....as long as the weather doesn't wipe me out (Hurricane Earl seems to be very close by)! And for my volunteer work, well...... I'm still making decisions. I've registered for habitat for humanity, however it seems that all the projects are Thursdays, and that's during my work hours, so I may need to wait for a day off, or wait until clinical is finished.
Well, that's all for now....just keeping you posted. As always, your feedback and comments are welcome!
Love,
Bec
Well, there's not too much new and exciting news since the last time I posted, I just wanted to give a brief update. With great excitement, I am pleased to announce that I have registered for my second walk.....Walk Now for Autism Speaks. It's on September 26th in East Boston, and is a 1 mile walk, with lots of fun and entertainment to follow. I've once again created a fund-raising page http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/greaterboston/rebeccamccabe , with a goal of raising $150. As you know I have already met my goal for my upcoming walk, and would love to succeed in meeting this goal as well. As I also mentioned before, raising awareness of Autism is important, and for those of you want to support this cause, and are unable to donate at this time, here's a link for you to learn a little more about autism, and help to educate others http://www.autismspeaks.org/ . This site also gives you information about walks near you, and ways to get involved in the community. For anyone interested in joining me in the walk, it is free to participate, and is also a shorter distance for those of you less comfortable with the longer distances.
As far as training goes.....well that took a little bit of a halt, since I went on vacation! I enjoyed a couple days in cape cod on the beach, and running just wasn't in the cards! Now I'm back, and will be getting right back to where I left off.....as long as the weather doesn't wipe me out (Hurricane Earl seems to be very close by)! And for my volunteer work, well...... I'm still making decisions. I've registered for habitat for humanity, however it seems that all the projects are Thursdays, and that's during my work hours, so I may need to wait for a day off, or wait until clinical is finished.
Well, that's all for now....just keeping you posted. As always, your feedback and comments are welcome!
Love,
Bec
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