volunteer more

Twice in three visits, the organization for which I’ve been doing some drop-in volunteering has made me phone-bank (okay, “made” is not quite the word, since I was there of my own volition; begged, pleaded, and offered no alternative work would be more accurate)... and honestly, I would rather jab myself with red-hot pins than call strangers on the telephone, whether I’m asking them to vote for somebody or trying to get them to come to an event or asking them for money. I have a hard time calling my friends on the telephone. So I just can’t bring myself to go back there, no matter how much I believe in their cause. Sigh… going to have to find some other way to make myself useful.

Did some phonebanking this weekend for the equal marriage folks. Using more of my actual skills, though (which phonebanking is NOT, I hate calling strangers on the telephone!), I responded to an ad looking for proofreaders in the newsletter for the state chapter of my professional organization and just got finished proofing my first newsletter PDF. Planning to stop back by the equal marriage organization office tonight after work, though, to see whether maybe they have SOMETHING other than phone calls they need my help with.

Well, just when I was feeling very out of the loop and politically disconnected and also not in touch with the Tribe and in want both of weekend plans, my phone rings out of the blue – it’s MassEquality, and they want people to volunteer to work the phone banks on weekends leading up to the Constitutional Convention on November 7. “Do you have any time to help out next Saturday?” the guy asked. In fact, I do! Sometimes the mountain comes to Muhammad after all.