Simple Serve

Technology and Human Services Before you promise to change the world, it makes sense to do the hard work of changing your neighborhood. Do what you say, then do it again, even better. We need your dreams, but we also need your deeds. –Seth Godin The Code for Princeton  #hackathon  is already making a difference in the lives of people. Princeton community members, coders, organizers and interested people came together to contribute to the cause of building something of great value for the community. Hackathons happen in a space that is driven by individuals. It is for the community and it is the motivation of the individuals. It is in that sense voluntary and not-for profit. The end result is pure enhancement of a product or a service with no monetary gain. In that sense they are a pursuit of excellence without a tangible award in return. So why did it become a success? A better question still is- why did the community want to participate? The simple answer is that we are

This is what the people said via Ootsav! 2015- Of course I support the library! Because people like us do things like this! People came out and supported the effort by the community.  I was quietly surprised when I saw the ambush of the volunteers at the first volunteer meeting at the library. We did not have a clear agenda for the day of (we had one for the meeting). We did not know how and what we would do eventually- but we all knew one thing- we all wanted to give back to the community. To give back to the library in manifold ways, in ways that cannot be quantified.  Paraphrasing Seth Godin- the reason for the existence of donors/ volunteers and non-profits is that we don't know how to solve some problems in the world. Problems that are unprecedented -like the economic recession and what it did to our economy and then to our library. When we move to volunteer and fundraising for a cause, we take risks which don't make profitable sense. This risk basically put

A TO DO LIST (NOT MINE, COPYRIGHT CURRENTLY LOST) FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE- CHOOSE ONE AND LET ME KNOW. * Start a bat education program for nature centers and schools, including a travel box and talk, as well as helping the community set up neighborhood bat boxes. * Create a program for educating parents on the dangers of lead poisoning and present it at community events. * Create a pedestrian safety campaign in your community; present the need for a stoplight in your community at a busy intersection to your local city council based upon your research. * Develop a breast cancer awareness program in your community for mothers and teens through local women's church groups. * Organize a chapter of SADD and plan a campaign for safe graduation parties in your community with representatives from the different high schools. * Develop an anti-bullying program for children that includes a drama component and peer counselors. * Plan and host a student art show as part of a commu

Talk about the American experience to south Asian women and what it has meant to them to live, make a living and settle in the US.

A Tibetan tent in the Newark Museum Simple Serve came out of a constant need to learn about and fix things around the community. With a background in Sociology that was born with the essential understanding to bring change in the world, to live the change you believe it- this has been the basis of my volunteering efforts.  I write this blog to enable others to find something to do and also for people to know what can be done.  To bring "change" to small things, to attitudes, to thoughts. Being involved in the Township Schools, in the Environmental Commission, co-organizing the Earth Day Fair for the last two years in the spring and being a part of Ootsav second time in a row this year- is in many ways a small attempt at doing that.   From the perspective of an outsider to growing to be the insider- this has been a learning and fruitful experience.   I am a huge believer of the fact that community service creates dependencies in a good way that can bring about a feeling

on my tea box to do another program of classical indian music would be a dream come true. It is here that I love to be creative with what I would like to do.  >>>>I wrote this in November of last year and it is coming true!

It's a delicate line between asking a woman what she wants and telling her what's good for her. It is something I learned the hard way (and got trained) as a women's advocate while working with women who seek out help. Initially- after the first feelings of "doing-good" you get to another plane where you see a pattern of women going back to abusive relationships (with good reas ons- stigma, children, financial stability -and those are real ones). Then all you want to do is be there for them. Be there. Be there. Without judgement. Secondly, as an advocate- you take a few calls everyday and meet a few women; a lot of them desperately seeking help and sometimes asking for shelter. You need to have a better handle on your own understanding about the fact that you are not the judge of what is to be the right thing for someone else's life. Meaning you counsel as a peer and not as a "helper" or a "fixer" of problems. The training I did as a