volunteering

Become A Board Member because ... We need more mentally healthy adults and we can tell by your expertise, you’d be a great voice and contributor to the mission of ACEs Matter.

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” - Frederick Douglas

Learning and doing something about ACEs could teach you or someone you love about ​childhood traumas ​that are related to depression, obesity, crime rates, poor employee performance, and other health concerns (just to name a few).

The more people we can educate about ACEs, the more we can collectively stop the roots of family trees from rotting.

We hope that someone that has never heard about ACEs will want to hear and learn from what we teach about generational cycles of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction.

www.acesmatter.org/new-board-members.html

#ACEsMatter #AdverseChildhoodExperiences #MentalHealthAwareness #compassion #volunteering

Look at that face in the picture. I took that picture yesterday while walking scared/shy shelter dogs. These dogs have so much to be depressed about, and many truly are, but many others open right up as soon as they get some affection. These dogs have so much to teach me about my own #Depression .

I’d never met this dog before yesterday. His shelter name is Garbonzo, but we have no idea what name he’s used to. But, the moment I hooked up his leash, he was as thrilled as if I’d raised him from a puppy. He was so willing to live in that moment and just accept the joy he was feeling in that moment. No worries about past or present. NOW. Only now. I need to be more like Garbonzo.

If you have a local shelter and can tolerate animals, I highly recommend taking the time to #Volunteer . It’s rewarding to know you are making a difference in another’s life. It’s even better when the one receiving your care shows appreciation (unlike many people). At any rate, #volunteering helps relieve my depression and gives me #purpose . I hope I can inspire others to find their own purpose.

◇ VOLUNTEERING ◇
• Do you have a cause that is near and dear to your heart? Something you feel strongly about and want to support? It can be very challenging to feel like you have enough energy (spoons) to give any of your time away to things outside of self care and at home responsibilities.
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• If you are like me, you have things that you want to do to help maintain some normalcy amidst your chronic illness.
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• I volunteer with 2 amazing organizations, @lancasterfarmsanctuary and @pittieslovepeace. I'll go into more detail on both of these organizations another time.
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• So, how can you help your favorite organizations?!
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1) Offer to send thank you notes to supporters who have donated to the charity you want to support
2) Make phone calls (reference phone calls for animal adoptions, coordination phone calls for events)
3) Share the organizations posts on social media, even if you are not even to help in person, sharing their posts and helping them gain exposure and a broader audience could bring in more donations, supporters and volunteers
4) Volunteer your time during an event. If they have a booth set up during an event, offer to take a shift and give information about the organization out to event attendees
5) Ask your organization of choice if there are things you can help with from home such as sending emails, online filing, fundraising, event planning, etc.
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• I know it can feel overwhelming having a Chronic Illness (or multiple), but if you are interested and feel like you have some time and a spare spoon every once in a while, reach out to an organization you support to see how you could possibly help.
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• I hope this post was helpful for you. What organizations do you all volunteer with? #Volunteer #volunteering #Charity #nonprofit #volunteerfromhome #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyaliga #Endometriosis #Migraines