MLK DAY

16: The number of people I need to train in the next two days.

As you are all probably aware, Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And while many businesses take that time to sleep in and stay at home, us (we?) VISTAs will use the time to work with various organizations to better serve our community.

Shared Harvest is still open on MLK day, but Kaitlyn and I have strategically alloted our time to spent with three different agencies that day. From 8-12 we will be with the Animal Friends Humane Society. I was hoping we'd go there and have fun playing with the kittens and walking the puppies, but we were told that we would have to go through an orientation to do that kind of thing. So we'll probably wash dishes and do laundry.

Why it takes a two hour training seminar to learn how to hold a cat, I will never understand.

We are also trying to get a hold of the Lighthouse Food Pantry to spend the afternoon there. If that name sounds familiar, it's because I worked with them a few months ago for the National Day of Service. We haven't heard back from them yet, but Kaitlyn said she'd call again tomorrow while I am at my tax training.

And finally, we'll be going to the YWCA Battered Women's Shelter from 4-7 putting together care packages. This project has been a roller coaster ride. The Women's Shelter sent Kaitlyn and me a "Wish List" that they had put together of toiletries, office supplies, cleaning materials, baby items, etc. for the care packages. With MLK Day only a week away, we had to act quickly.

So most of Monday was spent doing cold calls. Kaitlyn and I drove everywhere we could think of who might be able to make a donation: Meijer, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack (for batteries), McDonald's and Wendy's (for fast food gift cards), Target, Walgreens, Office Depot, etc.

Most of the places we went to required you to draft letters or fax a ton of information in order to even be considered for a donation. But we did stumble across some good luck. Office Depot gave us an allowance of $25 to spend in their store for some office supplies that was on the list. And a secondhand baby store called "Reruns for Wee Ones" put together a bag of diapers and baby bottles for us. We even got about 50 coupons for a free breakfast from Wendy's.

So I think we're pretty well prepared for Monday. We have a decent amount of stuff to bring in.

IN OTHER NEWS: I have a tax training tomorrow in Xenia and Friday at Miami Hamilton, and I haven't had one since the beginning of December. I hope I remember everything. Wish me luck!