Volunteers Please!
Another pre-conceived idea blown out of the water!
My experiences in England led me to believe that most volunteers were either little old ladies shovelling old clothes in Oxfam or mums and dads gamely helping out the PTA in the hope that the teachers would look favourably upon their children at school.
Basically voluntary work was only something done if you were too old or wealthy to get a "proper" job.
This is definitely not the case in the U.S.
This week stumbling in the wrong door led me to a window of opportunity.
I was searching for the tourist information office when I came across the Naperville Cultural Centre. Tucked away on the second floor of an office block, it is the small but vibrant home of an organisation dedicated to bringing cultures together. Look through the door of one room and you will find a group of senior ladies tackling yoga exercises. Listen at another to hear a child carefully practising 'Take me Out to the Ball Game' on the piano. Another room is a well stocked mosaic studio, boasting a cornucopia of coloured shards just waiting to be selected and turned into something beautiful.
Volunteers are the backbone of this organisation. But they are certainly not people who cannot do a real job.
For example, on Thursday I witnessed an amazing meeting. It was led by the director of the centre, an Indian businessman, an Indian music specialist and two American yoga teachers. They all have busy lives, but in their spare time they are helping to organise a month of peace celebration in the town.
At first I thought this was some hippy-like festival where people would skip around banging tiny cymbals together. Within minutes I discovered that in fact they were going to be playing Indian classical music. The event would open with a speech from a descendant of Gandhi, so heaven knows what else is lined up.
Chatting with one the group later, I discovered that he has a connection to Dunkin' Donuts. "Oh," I wrongly assumed. "He must have a little job there selling donuts. Could be a useful person to know."
Taj (not his real name) was born into poverty into a village in India. As he said, children often had no shoes and would only own a couple of shirts. Fortunately his father was able to send him out of the village to school. He worked hard and eventually came to America to study pharmacy.
So is Taj a retired pharmacist working part time in a donut shop?
Not exactly. He owns two Dunkin' Donut franchises, plus a Best Western and Ramada Hotel.
Taj says he has never forgotten his roots, and still takes his American son back to visit the village.
Of course in his spare time he volunteers at the centre, bringing his Indian culture to the people of Naperville. That way he can make sure Native Americans aren't the only Indians everyone tens to think of here.
My experiences in England led me to believe that most volunteers were either little old ladies shovelling old clothes in Oxfam or mums and dads gamely helping out the PTA in the hope that the teachers would look favourably upon their children at school.
Basically voluntary work was only something done if you were too old or wealthy to get a "proper" job.
This is definitely not the case in the U.S.
This week stumbling in the wrong door led me to a window of opportunity.
I was searching for the tourist information office when I came across the Naperville Cultural Centre. Tucked away on the second floor of an office block, it is the small but vibrant home of an organisation dedicated to bringing cultures together. Look through the door of one room and you will find a group of senior ladies tackling yoga exercises. Listen at another to hear a child carefully practising 'Take me Out to the Ball Game' on the piano. Another room is a well stocked mosaic studio, boasting a cornucopia of coloured shards just waiting to be selected and turned into something beautiful.
Volunteers are the backbone of this organisation. But they are certainly not people who cannot do a real job.
For example, on Thursday I witnessed an amazing meeting. It was led by the director of the centre, an Indian businessman, an Indian music specialist and two American yoga teachers. They all have busy lives, but in their spare time they are helping to organise a month of peace celebration in the town.
At first I thought this was some hippy-like festival where people would skip around banging tiny cymbals together. Within minutes I discovered that in fact they were going to be playing Indian classical music. The event would open with a speech from a descendant of Gandhi, so heaven knows what else is lined up.
Chatting with one the group later, I discovered that he has a connection to Dunkin' Donuts. "Oh," I wrongly assumed. "He must have a little job there selling donuts. Could be a useful person to know."
Taj (not his real name) was born into poverty into a village in India. As he said, children often had no shoes and would only own a couple of shirts. Fortunately his father was able to send him out of the village to school. He worked hard and eventually came to America to study pharmacy.
So is Taj a retired pharmacist working part time in a donut shop?
Not exactly. He owns two Dunkin' Donut franchises, plus a Best Western and Ramada Hotel.
Taj says he has never forgotten his roots, and still takes his American son back to visit the village.
Of course in his spare time he volunteers at the centre, bringing his Indian culture to the people of Naperville. That way he can make sure Native Americans aren't the only Indians everyone tens to think of here.
posted by Hilary at
11:02 AM
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