I know, I know, I am always going on and on about Idealist–how you can find volunteer opportunities there, nonprofit career fairs, graduate school career fairs, inspiring blogs, etc…But I can’t go on enough. Every single day, one of the very first things I do online, before I even pull up the news, is to check Idealist. I think I could look at it all day everyday and not get tired! It honestly just gets me inspired…
Juan Cruz, the regional director of the Buenos Aires Idealist office, told me a funny story…He told me that the name for Idealist does not come from the noun idealist (as in, you are an idealist), but rather the two nouns “idea” and “list”, idea+list, a list of ideas! Idealist started off with the goal of being a list of ideas in each community regarding where to volunteer! And it evolved into being a global web community with LOTS of lists of ideas!!! And it just so happens that the name fits perfectly since members of this list of ideas are all inspiring idealists…It’s a fitting coincidence, don’t you think?
In 2007, when I was living in Washington, DC, I was desperate to volunteer. I didn’t know the DC community yet, so what did I do to try and get to know it? Log onto Idealist, immediately! Which is how me and my boyfriend became involved with an Idealist group in DC called the Refugee Experience Series. This amazing group tries to increase awareness of the refugee’s plight by showing documentaries and holding cultural nights where refugees speak and food from the guest speaker’s native country is served. For example, last March, a documentary about the Sudanese refugee experience was aired by the Refugee Experience Series in Chinatown’s quaint Goethe theater. After the film, three Sudanese refugees spoke about their experiences, and after that, the whole gathering joined each other in the theater’s lobby to taste Sudanese food and to speak directly with the night’s guest speakers. It was an unforgettable experience…
After that night, my boyfriend began working for the Refugee Experience Series as a researcher for their next documentary, this one about Afghanistan. I helped him out, and together we contacted Afghan Refugee oganizations in the DC/MD/VA area, gathering all the information we could to help promote awareness. We also joined the Refugee Experience book club, where we read the amazing book Human Cargo, about the global refugee experience. I think that the opportunity to be part of the Refugee Experience Series community really enriched our lives in DC, and it would not have been possible without Idealist…
It’s interesting to see how my life is still connected with Idealist though I am not in the US anymore and no longer volunteering with the Refugee Experience Series…Now, my sisters are about to graduate from university, and together we are scouring Idealist graduate school and career fairs to help them in their search for further education and employment…I also scour it for possible volunteer positions in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America. And, of course, more than anything, I am seeking to connect Enchanting Challenge to Idealist…
Enchanting Challenge has a very similar mission to Idealist, in that we wish to connect people out of a united desire to serve, and we do that through our social network site. And we also want to help promote service by hosting our OWN service trips–to Tulum and to Ulaa. Because we are trying to attract the same type of person who surfs Idealist.org, we have made an Enchanting Challenge Idealist Group where we have also listed our volunteer opportunities. To join our group on Idealist, just click here. So far we’ve got 1o members, and we’re looking to grow! So if you read this blog, join our Idealist group today!
All of us idealists and idealistas must join together…Idealist makes it possible for groups like Enchanting Challenge and the Refugee Experience Series to reach their full potential…And we are all very thankful for the opportunity.
