Monday was overwhelmingly positive and energizing.
I had my first meeting as part of Hands On Central Texas’ Advisory Council. It’s ridiculous how much volunteer manpower the people in that room represent, and it’s also inspiring to imagine how they can push a large number of people into actionwith just a couple of precisely composed e-mails and their sheer will. I’m not sure what I can bring to the council, but I am there to support HOCT and the members of the council however I can, even if that means I have to volunteer Torquil for an entire weekend. (Har.)
At that meeting, I met (finallly) Alissa Magrum, director of volunteer services for Communities in Schools. I’d seen her name around and had been looking for a way to reach out to CISbecause they’re one of Austin’s finest nonprofits. (CIS is a dropout prevention program.) Alissa was stoked about “Team CIS,” a group that formed over the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon. Apparently, a number of people who ran for the CIS cause had never done more than a few miles before, and now they were hooked – not just on running but on raising money for CIS. The small team of runners raised more than $30,000, and they were looking for their next event.
She invited me to their happy hour celebrating their accomplishment. They also were making plans to grow the team and establish an ongoing series of athletic fundraisers.
“We have big plans to make this team an ongoing and sustainable fundraising/wellness vehicle for CIS and our team members,” she said. ”The potential for Team CIS is unbelievable.”
Doesn’t this sound fun? Learn more about CIS and contact them about joining the team.
