Volunteering
I am unemployed. I have been since February of 2009. I have done some substitute teaching at a couple of the high schools here in Salt Lake in an effort to keep myself busy. And I had a temp job writing web copy for a couple of weeks.
The nice thing about being unemployed is that I have time to do things I normally probably wouldn’t have spent time doing had I had work to do. Make sense?
I spend a fair amount of time every day working through my network to see if people know people who are hiring and such. This is required of me by the state so I can get my unemployment, but I think I have a better chance finding a rewarding job through my volunteer efforts.
I have taken on the volunteer position of chair of the marketing committee for the Sugar House Farmers Market that will be starting this summer. July 9th on the corner of 2100 South and 1100 East, come check it out. The Sugar House Farmers Market has grown from an idea and four individuals to a Friday night market in the heart of Sugar House starting in July. There are eight or nine board members, a finance committee and a marketing committee that I am aware of, I have only been involved for a few weeks. We have space for twenty-five vendors, and have already had many more vendor applications than that. We haven’t even started, and we have already outgrown our space. It has been a great learning experience working with those involved. I have enjoyed my time spent working towards the market, and look forward to the coming market.
I have also given time to Wasatch Community Gardens. I spent some time with them a month ago or so consulting on their social media outlets. I have now taken on the task of creating a guide book, so to speak, for their social media efforts. I hope to improve the usefulness of their facebook and twitter pages, as well as updating and maintaining a current blog presence. The staff and volunteers at Wasatch Community Gardens are fantastic. I expect I will learn quite a bit about gardening and what it takes to run a non-profit from them.
When I am not working on research for either Sugar House Farmers Market or WCG I read a lot, and write for my own blog when I can. I have my Kung Fu class, and I am training for a marathon. I stay busy. If one of these activities were to turn into a paying gig, then great, but for the time being, I am satisfied with what I have to do.
