From all over California the offers to help keep rolling in:
“If this is as big as they say, every person in the Bay Area that wants to help, should be used to help. Please give the Bay Area community the opportunity & instructions to help resolve this disaster in our own backyard. I have 2 good hands, 2 good feet & 2 days off work. Please don’t let that go to waste…” – J.C.
“If there is anything I can do to help with this horrendous tragedy, please contact me, thank you.” – L.B.
“I live in Santa Barbara and I am willing to travel to the Bay Area to volunteer, or to bring supplies from San Pedro to San Francisco.” – E.C.
“I’m available this week and maybe longer to help with the current oil spill. I understand that you might not be ready to accept volunteers. If so, just ignore this message. I’ll keep on checking the website. Thanks for your work.” – C.C.
“…Please find a use for me!” – T.O.
“I have no training, but am willing to learn, I am 55 years old with free time, thank you.” – G.H.
“Hello, I read through your web site and realized they are not many opportunities to help without training. However if there are any ways I can help with my time, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I take directions well and am a true nature and animal lover. I’d rather do something than feel powerless…” – C.P.
Note: I gathered some of these comments from hundreds of volunteer application submissions off IBRRC’s website. We’ve forwarded all these offers of help to the state’s volunteer coordinator. The OWCN site gives more updated info.
Please know, your good words and deeds will somehow be utilized. Thank you!
I certainly understand the frustration. I am a TRAINED IBRRC volunteer (having helped in some past oil spills) I called in and still haven’t heard back from anyone about where I can go to help. – Ladi
Seems to me untrained volunteers could be useful to the process. For example, every team of trained rescuers could have an untrained gofer to do whatever the rescuers need. Get them a drink of water. Wipe the oil off their face. Run to the vehicle and get x, y or z.
I, for example, could transport many captured birds in my Subaru up to Fairfield leaving all the handling/capturing to those with the training. Or deliver the rescuers to the locations of reported oiled birds.
Or make sandwiches.
Or gather food donations from companies that want to help and feed the folks that are doing clean up and rescue work.
Or help transcribe the gazillion vmail messages people are leaving.
Or scrub stuff that has been oiled/soiled by the clean up process.
It would seem like there’s an awful lot to do that doesn’t involve direct contact with the birds or the oil clean up that we could be doing to help the ones who do know how to work with the birds or the clean up.
Frustrated in El Sobrante…
Inspiring words for us all here at Shaping Youth.
Just posted about it and linked to you: “S.F. Oil Spill Prompts Altruism & Activism in Kids”.
Hearts are with you, and echo the comments of “anonymous” who discusses trained vs. untrained helpers…
Strongly feel kids can be put to use as go-fors too, and NEED to be allowed to share in this clean-up.
It is their future, and we need to enable engagement and foster hope and action.
It’s essential in creating lifetime habits, otherwise, they’ll be lost in the ‘shoulder shrug’ of ineptness and defeat…in ‘what can I do’ mode.
Just my two cents…Thank you for your vital/vibrant ongoing resource…Here’s the link to our post: http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=766