Thursday, February 7, 2013

Holly.

I'm so excited that Holly agreed to guest post for me while I'm taking a break this month. She. Is. Amazing. One of the sweetest girls, for real. Go read her blog now and show her some love!

Howdy!

Holly here...I have the privilege of sharing a few of my posts on Tomorrow, With a Smile. I was always impressed with Katie's humility and commitment to meeting others' needs in college and this has only increased since reconnecting with her through blogging. So it is a joy for me to be here!

At little background on me: I began blogging a year ago. I started the blog as a fun (and therapeutic) way to share updates on our new home, our boxer puppy and cat (yes, we're those kind of weirdos), recent service projects, my work as a school social worker, and to share how God is molding me through each of those avenues as I continually fail but take in the awesomeness of His grace.

A few other things about me...

1. I love to organize. everything.
2. I have a passion for bringing awareness about human trafficking
3. I like to exercise

Am I always fabulous at all of those? No.
However, with a team of incredible people and power of the Holy Spirit, amazing things can be done! And so this post will focus on those things in relation to community organizing.

Three years ago, I started the Traffick Stop 5k with my couples small group from Ada Bible Church. (Facebook page found here). The past two years we have had over 200 participants and raised nearly $5k for a local non-profit organization, Women At Risk, International. The 5k is a walk/run that is aimed at spreading awareness about human trafficking, so the proceeds were a bonus.

We just began the process of organizing the 3rd annual 2013 Traffick Stop 5k, and I am seriously pumped to see how many more men, women, and children will learn about this tragedy (and the organizations fighting it) in hopes that they will also get involved in making our local and global community a safer place.

You may be wondering what is the process of organizing a 5k is like? Good question! It entails...

1. Prayer
2. Lots of fundraising (we did through garage sales and contacting local businesses)
3. Applications to reserve a park, street and/or trail
4. Creating logos and fliers
5. Purchasing T-shirts, race bags, water bottles, food, prizes, insurance policies, posters, race bibs, timing equipment, PA system, etc.
6. Soliciting and organizing volunteers
7. Spreading the news on FB, running sites, and of course blogs!
8. Creating a website and online registration (ours will  be updated soon)
9. Revising spreadsheets
10. Constantly thanking your marvelous team members

I have been continually blessed by this event, and although I wanted to give up at one point, the people participating and serving with me reminded me of its importance. I hope this short post can encourage some of you to take a chance to be more involved in your community. If you're interested in organizing a 5k, give me a holler--I'd love to help! Maybe you are feeling led to volunteer at a homeless ministry, seniors home, museum, prison, or your child's school. Or perhaps pick up trash along the highway. What I've been reminded over and over again is that repeating one small action overtime will make a huge difference. Cliche? Maybe. But why not test that statement out?

So, how about it...what plans do you have to serve your community?

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