To Register If You Didn't Get an E-Mail Link

If we have a current e-mail address for you and we know you're interested, you should have received a message today with a link to the registration form. But if you've virtually moved or we've misplaced you (these things do happen), here's a link to the registration form.

Once you've registered, we'll have your e-mail address on record and can communicate with you via e-mail until and right after the event--and keep you informed for next year, too.

If you've stumbled on this site and aren't sure what we're talking about, peruse this summary and then the blog archive: Women's Service Day is an annual event for women over 18 in the Holland/Zeeland area to serve women and children through a day of service with local agencies. We also learn about the work of local nonprofits, network with other women, and have a lot of fun.

Agencies We'll Support on October 1

We can hardly believe it, but our Women's Service Day now appears right around the corner! We're firming up plans with the participating agencies, and thought you might want to know who we're serving:

• 70x7 Life Recovery, a new agency for us this year
• Center for Women in Transition
• Community Action House
• Evergreen Commons
• Girls on the Run
• Good Samaritan Ministries
• Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity
• Holland Rescue Mission
• Hospice of Holland
• My Sister's House, an adult foster care facility sponsored by the Holland Deacons' Conference
• Ottawa County Health Department
  

We're also collecting donations for Women's Resource Center in Grand Rapids. They help to improve women's workplace and economic opportunities through assistance in preparing for job interviews or to reenter the workforce. Their Working Women's Clothes Closet (WWCC) offers high-quality clothing and accessories--and all donations are tax deductible. Here's what they need:

• Clothing (clean and in good condition) that's needed: Suites, dresses, dress pants, blouses, shoes, dress coats, jackets, purses, accessories, skirts, pant suits, and new nylons, especially in size 18 and above.
• Items needed for job seekers: Resume paper and envelopes, "Forever" postage stamps to mail resumes, pens and pencils, week-at-a-glance planners, The Rapid bus passes, gas station gift cards, cell phone minutes, donations of talent or cash for car repairs, shopping bags (in good condition from "nicer" department stores) of all sizes, and personal care products including unopened tampons (no baby or children's items, of course).
  
• Items needed for client classes: Meijer gift cards for refreshments, pizza gift certificates, projector for computer classes, computer speakers and/or headsets.

You can imagine yourself getting ready for an interview for a job you'd really like, and then imagine what you'll use to get ready, wear, and carry with you. Those are what's needed!

If you have any questions, you can post them here or you can e-mail the planning team (at womensserviceday at gmail.com) for a personal response.

Hope to see you on October 1!

Join Women's Service Day on Facebook

If you're a Facebook user, become a member of our group to get updates and to help us spread the word! At our group page (Women's Service Day 2009), click on the link to tell us you're interested, and we'll confirm your membership that same day. Then you can participate in discussions and invite your friends.

If you're not a Facebook user, of course, we're not the only thing you're missing out on. But everyone decides for herself whether to put a toe in that technological water....

Announcing the 2009 Women's Service Day!

Women's Service Day began in 2002 when a few women—passionate about serving their community—volunteered to work on a Habitat house for a single mother. The group blossomed into a team of 50 women—more than one Habitat house could accommodate. Every year since, we’ve organized a day of volunteering specifically for women, reaching a record 149 participants!

You may have known it as Women’s Volunteer Day. We’ve changed the name because, after all, it’s not about who we are but about what we do. It's an opportunity for you to offer your time, skills, and talent to nonprofit organizations in the Holland/Zeeland area, to increase awareness of issues for area women and children, and to network among women in our community.

In the past, we’ve cleaned and organized, painted and finished, landscaped and weeded, cooked and baked, washed windows, assembled lesson plans and materials, organized and led after-school activities for middle school girls, and made cards for families with loved ones who are terminally ill or living in nursing facilities.

This year, Women’s Service Day will be on Thursday, October 1. The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast at Hope Church in Holland, where you’ll be assigned a task for the day. Participating on work crews and sharing a meal as a group are fun ways to meet new people and make connections. You’ll start your volunteer assignments around 10 a.m., working for 4-6 hours and having lunch on your own as a crew. Participants will be limited to first-registered, first-served, and you must be present at breakfast to get your assignment.

You're already on our mailing list if you've participated before (and haven't changed your e-mail address) or if you or someone else told us you'd like to participate. Please help us expand our community network by inviting your sisters, friends, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, daughters, partners, and colleagues (aged 18 and older, please); just let us know their names and e-mail addresses.

We'll send a registration e-mail later this summer, but for now, save the date! And if you'd like to chat with us or other participants before the event, post comments here or join our Facebook group--just search for Women's Service Day (Holland/Zeeland) and ask to join.

Date Set for 2009 Event: October 1

We've chosen the date for our volunteer event for 2009: Thursday, October 1. Hard to believe it, but the planning has already begun! We're going to follow the same format as last year, starting with breakfast at a central location before crews head out to the dozen or so agencies to work.

We're also going to start a Facebook group to make it easier to stay connected with folks who may have changed e-mail addresses, and to make it easier for people to spread the word to their networks. While we started this event with Herman Miller employees, we opened it up last year to women across the Holland/Zeeland community with good response; we're hoping for even more this year.

If you're new to the Women's Volunteer Service Day, check out the archive to read about last year's event. And stay tuned! We hope to see you on October 10.

We're so grateful for all of your help!

Because of our new format this year, we needed extra help during breakfast, getting everyone signed in and fed before we headed out to our volunteer assignments. That was another half-dozen folks to be grateful for--along with all of the women who are happy and energized to give much of a day to others in the community. The artists and craftspeople who donated their work for our raffle, too, didn't need to be asked twice.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to make a difference. I was part of a crew that assembled gifts for an upcoming conference for leaders of homeless shelters. Not something you think about, right? That those people also get together to exchange what in the corporate world we called "best practices"? We also learned that the average age of people passing through the Holland Rescue Mission these days is--what would you think? I've asked a few people, who've said 38? 47? 29? Nope. The answer is 12. Twelve years old, on average. That was shocking to me.

But I digress. What I meant to do was to create a place where other folks could share their stories from Women's Volunteer Day 2008. What did you do? How did it feel? Wasn't it a beautiful day?

What to bring and expect on September 25

Because this year is different from previous years, here's some more detail about what to expect. First, what to plan to have with you:

• We're holding a raffle, so bring some cash! See the terrific donated raffle prizes in earlier posts below.
• We're collecting donations for Holland Rescue Mission; the items they need are listed below.
  
• Bring work gloves (and rubber gloves if you prefer to use them for indoor cleaning).
• Wear (or bring, just in case) CLOSE-TOED SHOES to protect your toes.
  

Plan to get dirty, not to make an impression; dress accordingly!

Here's what the day will look like:

8:00-8:15 a.m.

• Arrive at Hope Church, centrally located at 77 West Eleventh Street in Holland (between River and Pine Avenues, just south of downtown Holland and west of Centennial Park).
• Drop off your donations for Holland Rescue Mission just inside the door.
• Check in at the Welcome Table (we're requesting a breakfast donation of $5) and buy raffle tickets ($1 each, 6 for $5, or 14 for $10).
• Draw your table number, which will also indicate your crew assignment.
• Distribute your raffle tickets among the artwork donated by four talented women.
• Go to the table number you received and meet your crew and agency representative.

8:30 a.m.

• Help yourself to the breakfast buffet and network with your crew while you wait for the raffle drawing results.

9:30 a.m.

• Adjourn with your crew to your work site. Remember to take along a crew assignment card from your table, as well as an apple and granola bar for a snack at your work site.
• Plan to have lunch with your crew and wrap up by 3:00 p.m. Unless, of course, you're in the groove--then stay at your work site as long as you like.

Holland Rescue Mission Donations
Our donation drive this year is for women and children at the Holland Rescue Mission's Family Hope Ministry Center, which shelters women, children, and intact families experiencing homelessness.

For women, the Mission needs: new panties and socks; shampoo, conditioner, hair gel/spray/mousse/etc., combs, brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, disposable razors, lotion, and feminine hygiene products.

For children, the Mission needs: diapers, wipes, sippy cups, pacifiers, bibs, onesies, and toddler/preschool snacks.