Got Extra Free Time? Give Volunteering a Try

When you have a job that leaves you with even less than what most would see as part-time, you might discover that you're alone a lot, doing pretty much nothing. Sure, you can zonk out on Netflix for days at a time (seems like everyone in my generation is capable of this evil), but there are certainly more valuable ways to spend your time. For two years, I've worked less than 20 hours per week. But instead of bemoaning the fall of the economy and becoming another zombie who has watched every episode of The X-Files five times, I decided I would do something else: I would volunteer.

I didn't realize it at the time, but doing this would allow me to to socialize, something I had lost when I started working from home. But there weren't just benefits in it for me; advantages abound when a person volunteers for at least three beneficiaries: the volunteer, the organization, and whomever the organization wants to help. This might mean working at a food pantry or meal program downtown--such as God's Kitchen, Mel Trotter, Westminster Pantry--or finding a foundation with goals that fit your personality. Here are some organizations that I enjoy:

Community Media Center

The Community Media Center has been in operation for more than 25 years. According to the group, it has "acquired and maintained technology, tools, media services and venues to benefit the Grand Rapids community." This organization is in charge of the Rapidian, a news outlet described as "very local" because it is a citizen-contributed new source. CMC also runs Wealthy Theatre, a venue used for many things including films, concerts, and community meetings. Volunteers can help run concessions; become a programmer for CMC's radio station, 88.1 FM WYCE; contribute to the community television station, GRTV; the list goes on and on. If you want to get in touch with this organization, head to www.grcmc.org.

Well House

If media and technology do not interest you, maybe spending some of your extra time at Well House will. This organization "provides safe, affordable housing to the homeless." Unlike other shelters though, this facility does not use a blanket approach for all people who reside under its roof. Each person is treated as an individual with different issues than any one other person. By recognizing this, Well House has given many of the residents a better chance at recovering and reintegrating with the community. Volunteers can help renovate the house, work in the art studio, or assist with the urban farm. I can't end this description without commenting on how stylish this organization's website looks: It's really crisp and simple. Be sure to check it out at www.wellhousegr.org.

Creative Youth Center

The many communities of Grand Rapids that could use your
help. (Image courtesy of the Community Research Institute)

If you would rather work with kids, the Creative Youth Center may be for you. This group hopes to better students by working on their writing skills, both in and out of school. Honestly, this is one of my favorite nonprofits in GR, largely because I love writing and each child that works with the CYC becomes a published writer--how cool! In addition to that, volunteers help provide tutoring after school in any subject that a student brings to the table. Volunteers can also help students become reporters through the Rapidian--proof that nonprofits in Grand Rapids can collaborate to provide even more benefits to the community. All of the programs are free to students of Grand Rapids Public Schools. Visit their website (also rather swanky) at www.creativeyouthcenter.org.

So, if you have more time on your hands than you know what to do with, consider reaching out to one of these organizations. If none of these groups interest you, why not work for your neighborhood association and help make your region of the city a better place to live? Use this website to figure out the contact information for your local association.

Our Motto Could Move Mountains... If Anyone in the City Knew It

Do you know what the motto of Grand Rapids is? Many residents--probably the majority--do not. Even some of the hipsters who live in Eastown and the oh-so-in-touch urbanites of Heartside are unaware of it. In my eyes, those that do not know are missing out on a very motivational piece of our fair city's history--I'm writing now to change that. The motto of Grand Rapids is two, short words: "Motu Viget." The Latin phrase is succinct and (maybe) a little hard to pronounce, but its translation--"strength in activity"--is much deeper than all of that, leaving a chasm of room for interpretation behind.

Some people will know this phrase because it is the given name of a much beloved sculpture that sits not in Calder Plaza, but just behind it, next to the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building. The installation has been in that spot on the federal building's lawn for more than 35 years and I'd be willing to wager that visitors are seen on an almost daily basis (excluding the winter months) from the windows of city hall. This is because the sculpture, designed by Mark di Suvero, is a functional piece: Residents of the city may also know it as the Giant Tire Swing.

Photo courtesy of Brandon Bartoszek, Flickr

After the piece was named and dedicated, many people were confused by the title. Just like today, citizens had forgotten their own endearing history and the decisions of the past that led them (and us) to the present. According to an anecdote from an arts activist here in the city, di Suvero pointed this out, telling those that questioned him about the name that it was actually the city's slogan; that it was theirs and not his. During the hustle and bustle of daily life, the concerns that plague us as individuals constrict our minds and bodies, making us quick to forget the things we have learned and experienced, those tools that can help us build a better future and an even better present.

So, strength in activity: What can we learn from this local idiom? Some might interpret it as a physical call to arms, pushing them toward a regimen of care for the community through manual labor. Others may consider it a mental or intellectual declaration, reminding citizens to keep their minds sharp by using them as much as possible. There is, of course, a social interpretation to this that combines both aforementioned meanings. As a community, acknowledging the plights of others and working to defeat such oppositions is a great representation of socially active strength. Using the muscle that we can generate as a whole, rather than as a fragmented many, is something that is taken advantage of from time to time but should be used more often.

Groups like Friendly Corps, Creative Youth Center, the Bloom Collective, and the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition are excellent examples of citizens working together to fortify our fair city in ways that each group believes to be necessary and resilient. By joining together and working toward something better, the individuals that make up such movements have turned themselves into shining examples of that forgotten pillar that has helped turned Grand Rapids into what it is today: Motu Viget.

--Matt Knaack lives in Grand Rapids and occasionally blogs for BGL.