Time Well Spent ~ An Eco-Arts & Creative Repurposing Community Enrichment Center

This spring, I’ve had the pleasure (and sometimes the pain!) of working with 7 Ipswich teens from the high school’s junior class, including my own son, Mark.  Every single junior is required to do 25 hours of community service and my idea was to mentor a few groups in service learning projects from start to finish… It’s been a learning experience on all sides, I’d have to say! While I could  (and should, and will) share a post on the experience from my perspective at some point, here’s the summary paper written by one of the participants. (Yes, it’s my son’s write-up. Know that I was harder on him than the other teens ~ yes I’m one of those moms who sets the bar high ~ it’s good for them!). 

DeClutter For Good Sports Equipment Drive Summary 

By Mark Gallant 

           My community service project was full of experiences and unique opportunities and I feel that I have greatly benefited from the time that I put in. For my project, I organized and ran a sports equipment drive, with the help of two of my friends and classmates, Will G and Brendan C, under the social enterprise Time Well Spent. Over the past couple of months, we have learned many skills that will be useful in the outside world, such as contacting businesses, spreading information through a number of different sources, and managing time. 

Some pics of Mark sorting and transporting donated sports equipment. DeClutter For Good drives involve a lot of moving of stuff! 

            The first step we had to take was planning the drive. At first the process seemed simple, but on the contrary, there were many things to be done in order to have a successful experience. Perhaps the most important of the steps was researching organizations that would be able to take the sports equipment to where it was needed. This was the entire purpose of our community service project, getting sports equipment to kids who do not have the same privileges that we are so accustomed to. For the most part, kids in our school have had the privilege to play sports, whether it be playing on a Little League team or shooting hoops in the driveway. Some kids, however, grow up without this privilege. There are entire communities of children that may have as many sports goods that one family in Ipswich has, which isn’t right in my mind. Many of us have garages filled with old sporting goods that are no longer touched, and there’s no reason why these unused goods shouldn’t be given to someone who has nothing. Time Well Spent has monthly drives called DeClutter For Good Drives, which target a specific item every month to be donated. The purpose of these drives is to not only get unneeded clutter out of the house, but to also be helping those in need. 

            We did manage to find three reputable organizations to accept donations from us; Playing it Forward, in Framingham, Sports Gift, in Holbrook, and Cornerstones in Ipswich. Playing it Forward gives its donated goods to underprivileged youths around the state. Sports Gift brings its donated goods to somewhere much farther, but with the same intentions, as they take sports equipment all the way to Liberia. Cornerstones is a school in Ipswich for children who need a safe place to stay and be educated. All three of these organizations were excellent finds and definitely reliable. When we found out where we could take the donations, we needed to spread the word of the drive around the community, which we did in a few different ways. Perhaps the helpful of these was our experience with the Ipswich Chronicle, which I am sure we will never forget. 

            In order to spread the word of our drive, we wrote a letter to the editor of the Ipswich Chronicle. We wrote about what the drive was about and what we were looking for, and the letter was published the next week. What we did not expect was a call from one of the writers, wanting to do a follow-up article regarding the drive. We met with the reporter, Jane Dooley, the following week, and were interviewed about the drive. She asked us questions such as why we chose to do the drive and how we benefit and learn from it. After we were interviewed, a photographer took our pictures for the paper, which is easier said than done. Our “photo shoot” lasted about a half hour and the photographer had us in a few different poses with some of the sports equipment, taking a few dozen pictures of each pose. The article ended up landing on the front page of The Chronicle, with a funny picture of us that I’m sure we never forget. 

            Although our work with The Chronicle was the most unique experience we had, we also spread word of the drive through the school system. At both the Doyon and Winthrop Elementary schools, as well as the high school, we put up flyers and had an announcement run over the PA system. These locations are also where we placed collection boxes, which was the next step of the drive. We had to find large boxes and make sure the schools were fine with us putting the boxes in the lobbies. Once the drive was over, we collected the boxes, and sorted the equipment into what each of the three organizations would be getting. Then we transported the sports equipment to the organizations, finishing our part of the drive. 

            I felt that our idea and the way we accomplished what we set out to do made this a successful project and learning experience. We learned a lot about running a drive, and even though we did not do everything perfectly, it worked out in the end. There were definitely bumps in the road, as there were a few occasions where we were unsure of what to do or became stuck. One example is how we had trouble finding the boxes to place at the schools. Since we expected a good amount of goods to be donated, we knew that we would need large boxes, but did not know where to find them. This delayed us a bit, but eventually we got our hands on a couple refrigerator boxes, which were perfect for the job. We did end up getting a pretty good amount of items, and although there could have been more potential donations, we knew that this was a learning experience and we were not going to end up with truck loads of used sports equipment. 

        We also had our share of fun doing the drive. Since we’re all friends, we shared a number of laughs and had a good time whenever we were working. We would also usually end up getting food together afterwards, which was always something to look forward to. I feel that doing the community service project with friends was a good decision because even though it was a serious project, there’s nothing wrong with having some fun with it as well. We all found the project to be very rewarding because it was easy to feel good about ourselves when we saw how successful we were with a drive that we organized and managed ourselves. We also hope to take the knowledge we gained from this experience with us in life, as many of the skills necessary for this drive can be applied to other areas in life. There was a certain sense of responsibility that was needed for this project because we knew we had to follow through with it and not just give up. I feel like our project is different than most other students because we weren’t going and doing the same thing every day after school for a certain chunk of time like many kids do, but instead we were doing something different almost every time we met. I am glad that I chose to do this drive and I hope in the future that other students will do something similar because of everything it can do, not only for the people being helped, but also for the one helping. 

HOURS WORKED TALLY/Time Sheet 

• 2/14- Picked up and moved objects from a house in Hamilton to Nancy’s office – 2 hr
• 2/31- Videoed Nancy for her Pepsi Refresh Contest Entry – 1 hr
• 3/1- Researched organizations and e-mailed them regarding the drive – 3 hr
• 3/7- Went to the local YMCA, wrote letter to the editor, and made a Facebook Group for Time Well Spent – 3 hr
• 3/9- Created a flyer for the drive to post around the schools – 1 hr
• 3/10- Further online research regarding the drive – 1 hr
• 3/15- Interviewed by Jane Dooley of the Ipswich Chronicle about the drive – 2 hr
• 3/16- Went around to the local schools and asked them if we could put boxes in their lobbies – 1 hr
• 3/23- Stayed at Nancy’s office for the drop-off day to greet donaters – 6 hr
• 4/5- Picked up boxes from the schools – 1 hr
• 4/17- Met with Nancy regarding the final steps that needed to be taken – 1 hr
• 4/20- Sorted the sports equipment and divided it into what organization it would be going to – 2 hr
• 4/23- Brought the sports equipment to the organizations that were to receive them- 4 hr
• 5/3- Wrote a thank you note to the Ipswich Chronicle for their help – 1 hr
• Total- 29 hours

Mark, Will and Brendan, three service learning teens from Ipswich High School who are helping Time Well Spent this spring, have been seeing first hand all the logistics involved in “DeCluttering For Good” ~ the “simple” effort to collect that which we have too much of and get it in the hands of those who are in need. Actually, by doing all the legwork, we are making the process simple for those who want to contribute ~ helping people help others and the environment…  The logistics, however, are a bit more involved! From sending emails, to getting permission to post flyers and position collection boxes, to alerting the media via their well-written letter to the editor and being interviewed and photographed for a front-page article, as a result…. It is my hope these young men are learning a bit about themselves and about stewardship to Fellow Man and Mother Earth in the process!

At this point, these three students, aka “the boys,” are gathering and sorting the donations that came in to all the schools in Ipswich – the Doyon and Winthrop grammar schools and the Middle School/High School. One local organization that provides services to young people in need, Cornerstones Ipswich, is thrilled to know we will be bringing them an assortment of balls and equipment to get the kids they serve out and active!

Also, arrangements are in the works to bring Michael Cambra, local Sportsgift.org coordinator, to speak with next year’s juniors about service learning. Michael is leaving soon for a month in Africa, distributing sports equipment, particularly for soccer and basketball, from previous donations he has received. His visit to the high school will be worth the wait.  Reply to this post if you still have sports equipment/uniforms/cones to donate. Click here to visit the Time Well Spent FANpage discussion page where the service learning kids have been keeping track of their activities on the drive.

March marks the first of 3 months during which juniors from Ipswich High School will be earning community service credit by helping out at Time Well Spent. I look at school community service requirements as an opportunity for service learning ~ where students truly learn to understand and appreciate the depth and breadth of opportunities to participate in activities and events that are focused on serving and improving the “community.” I teach the students right off the bat to see concentric circles of community, from the school community to the town, the area, the state, the country and ultimately, the global community.  Teaching stewardship to fellow man and Mother Earth through service learning is a topic that I feel very passionate about. I could go on, but I’ll get down to the business at hand ~ this month’s DeClutter For Good Donation Drive ~ Used Sports Equipment.

Here’s the Letter to the Editor written by this month’s service learning students (full disclosure ~ one of them is my son Mark!) posted in the March 11th Ipswich Chronicle:

Dear Editor,
We would like to draw the people’s attention to the massive problem of underprivileged youth in our local communities who are unable to play sports simply because they cannot afford things such as baseballs and basketballs. To combat this problem, for our community service project, with the help of the social enterprise Time Well Spent, founded by Nancy Gallant, we are running a sports equipment drive during the month of March as part of the organization’s DeClutter For Good programs, which help us to work collectively to get the clutter out of our homes and into the hands of those in need. Nancy’s mission is to awaken, educate and empower the suburban community to live with mindful awareness of daily choices regarding use of time, talent, energy & resources, resulting in authentic happiness and personal fulfillment through purpose-driven service to self, family, those in need and the environment. What we are asking of the community is to gather up any out of use or outgrown sports equipment from your house, such as balls, cleats, bats, rackets, clubs, sticks, pads, uniforms, gloves, etc. and bring it to one of our collection boxes. These will be at Ipswich High School, Doyon Memorial School, and Winthrop School, and on March 21, you can bring equipment to Time Well Spent, located on 89 Turnpike Road/Rte. 1, #208. After we collect all of the equipment, we will then pass it on to The Sports Gift Network, which gets the equipment to where it is needed in underprivileged communities. The purpose of this drive is not only to help clean out your garage or basement of all of your unused equipment, but also help those in need, so you can help improve your own lives as well as the lives of the people around you.
Thank you,

Mark G, Will G, and Brendan C

For a list of acceptable items, click here.

If you are aware of an organization on the North Shore that could benefit from the donation of sports equipment, be sure to let them know about our drive! They can email nancy.gallant@comcast.net to discuss their needs so we can set aside the appropriate donations for them.

Questions? Ask away…

As I’ve been creating Time Well Spent, I see the concept from a number of perspectives, lenses, if you will. On the local level, obviously Time Well Spent will do much good as it serves its mission. From a wider angle, I’ve always seen the potential of Time Well Spent to do so much more. By providing an example of a social enterprise, the concept will begin to take hold. Consumers and businesspeople alike will head up the learning curve of conscious capitalism, triple-bottom-line business. Call it what “they” will (and believe me, “they” do!), it’s all centered around a morally-grounded approach to doing well in business by doing good, keeping all stakeholders in mind. 

I am on the organizing board of the Social Enterprise Alliance Massachusetts Chapter. I am honored to be included among fellow members who already do so much good through their social enterprise efforts.  Following is a thank-you message I sent out for the launch event that I was involved with last week. It includes loads of links to wonderful organizations and individuals.  Checking it out is definitely time well spent!  Read on for the entire thank you…

Continue reading Social Enterprise Alliance Mass Chapter Launch Event

Here’s the Welcome Post for my PEPSI Refresh Project entry… Like Time Well Spent, always a work in progress… Waiting for perfection wastes time that can be spent putting the concept into action (that’s the theory I’m going by, anyway!)

VOTE BY CLICKING HERE!  Once a day, every day ~ in March!

Welcome to new visitors drawn by the Pepsi Refresh Project and to long-time supporters of my concept for Time Well Spent~ a comprehensive new business concept based on the triple-bottom-line of people, planet and profits.

Thank you for your serious consideration and support…

Here are just Three Reasons

Your TIME Supporting our Funding Effort

will be WELL SPENT:

REASON ONE

The concept is replicable.

Once we create Time Well Spent in one suburban community, it can be brought to scale, repeated in community after community, helping so many people throughout the country help their Fellow Man and Mother Earth.

REASON TWO

The concept is sustainable.

Once the initial launch period is behind us, the business model is designed to depend on multiple streams of income. All activities will simultaneously generate the funds to stay in business even as the activities serve the social and environmental mission. That’s social enterprise. That’s sustainable business. That’s conscious capitalism. That’s the triple-bottom-line. Call it whatever you want, it’s the best business practices used to benefit all stakeholders. And, as such it will serve as an example to others and teach about social enterprise even as it serves the mission.

REASON THREE

The worthy mission serves an unmet need.

People in the suburbs want to help. Finding how and where to begin is the problem. By facilitating that process ~ while increasing awareness of our daily lifestyle and consumer choices ~ we are able to help all stakeholders involved including those wanting to help others, those service organizations struggling to help others, those in need and, never to be forgotten, our environment. What’s more, all of the activities and sponsorship opportunities go a long way to help the local small businesses as well as the local creative artisans and artists. Not bad for one wonderful, inspiring and empowering Eco-Arts & Creative Repurposing Community Enrichment Center.

Ready to vote? Great!

Click here to go right to the voting page for Time Well Spent.

Need more information? Absolutely!

Plenty on my blog including links on the Social Media page.

Want to help? Fantastic!

Along with voting everyday, have all the members in your  household vote from their own email address. Offer to take on that task for them.

Send an email to friends and family. Want a sample, let me know. I’d be happy to share the email my sister Sandy sent out as a sample that you could modify. Thanks, Sandy!

Become a facebook FAN, suggest the page to friends and SHARE the voting link on your status. A hats off to the friends and FANS already putting up with my frequent reminders!

DeCluttering For Good is Time Well Spent’s cornerstone charitable activity. Each month, we focus on an item or group of items cluttering up our homes that could be used by those in need. Time Well Spent does the research to determine the best organizations to partner with and invites folks to contribute toward a goal. This facilitates the giving process and empowers individuals to contribute to a collective effort. Time Well Spent for sure… Ultimately, the Time Well Spent website will include an entire section dedicated to DeCluttering For Good, including tracking of results and links to organizations with whom we partner in service to those in need. In the meantime, plenty more details about the DeClutter For Good concept can be found on Nancy Gallant’s website. Here’s a link to the page describing DeClutter For Good… Do a search and you can read about the many drives already held!

Update: Cradles to Crayons has seen a 40% increase since this time last year in the demand for warm clothing so Time Well Spent will be happy to accept those donations as well as baby donations as part of this month’s DeClutter For Good drive.

Help Time Well Spent reach our goal 

of a full carload of baby things donated this month

and watch for the results next month!

Here are the details of our February DeClutter For Good drive, with special thanks to Ipswich Brownie Troop 60628 for helping out and learning about DeCluttering For Good!

For Whom?      Babies of Massachusetts Families in Need

Service learning opportunities abound at Time Well Spent, a new social enterprise (serving a social and environmental mission within a financially-self-sustaining business model as opposed to funding through annual grant-seeking). Time Well Spent is an Eco-Arts & Creative Repurposing, Community Enrichment Center.  While the Time Well Spent website and blog are under construction, for more information, you may go to Facebook FAN Page  or Nancy Gallant’s Blog :  

Service Learning Defined ~

When community service opportunities include an understanding of the underlying needs that exist, the plan for helping, and the assessment of the benefits of the volunteer activity, that’s service learning! When the community service is in an area of interest for the volunteer, excitement for both learning and service are fueled. Ipswich High School students, particularly juniors searching for a meaningful community service experience, are encouraged to consider volunteering their time to a project of their choosing at Time Well Spent. Parents of students of all ages are welcome and encouraged to learn more about meaningful service learning opportunities for their children.

The volunteer opportunities at Time Well Spent can be divided into 2 categories, DeClutter For Good and Recycle For Good…

DeClutter For Good ~ Volunteers Needed Now and Next Year

While Time Well Spent is still in its start-up phase overall, the “donations to charity” parts of the business model are in full swing in the form of Monthly DeClutter For Good donation drives. Currently Time Well Spent is wrapping up several drives. Students who need to add a few hours to their community service requirement or to add to the community service portion of their resume for college (including current seniors) can volunteer a few hours of their time in the next couple of weeks. Following are the current DeClutter For Good -related activities that are being wrapped up:

• BOOKS for More Than Words

• BUSINESS ATTIRE wrapping up business suits for women to WellSpring House(hands-on sorting of women’s business clothing donations and help with delivery to the WellSpring House ~ delivery to service organizations are always eye-opening, both surprising and inspiring).    
•  
• Children’s books, videos, games delivery to Cornerstones Ipswich in time for the holidays…

For 2010, there will be a year filled with monthly donation drives. The February drive is being supported by one local girl scout group. Individuals and groups interested in DeClutter For Good donation drive volunteer opportunities in 2010 are encouraged to contact Nancy Gallant at Nancy@timewellspentonline.com .

ReCycle For Good Wall ~ Meaningful Group Volunteer Projects

Ongoing Recycling For Good will take place via The Wall – where recycling is taken beyond the curb! Items that are typically put in the recycling bin or the trash are collected and directed to organizations that serve people in need or the environment. The service learning opportunities via The Wall are start-to-finish projects that include research, awareness building, collection drives and delivery - with learning and understanding every step of the way, of the needs that exist and the logistics involved like shipping and delivery.  Volunteers can focus on topics that spark an interest in them – and it is at that union of action and passion where lasting learning occurs.  

The Recycle for Good Wall projects are ideal for volunteer groups  of 3-5 students to undertake, each student contributing with a part of the overall project, drawing on their individual strengths and interest area. As a result, group learning is another benefit of participation. Groups are facilitated by Nancy Gallant, founder of Time Well Spent and long-time community volunteer with 8 years of experience working with children through Doyon’s Understanding Difference program.

Briefly, here are a few Recycle For Good topics that groups of students could work on, completing their entire service requirement:

• Medicine Bottles for distribution of HIV medication in Africa (interest in medicine, women, children, global issues)
• Beanie Babies to soldiers to give to kids in Iraq and Afghanastan (interest in military, children, global issues, beanie baby lovers)
• Denim to be made into earth-friendly, people-friendly wall insulation (interest in environment, green building, jeans lovers)
•  Sneakers to be ground up and made into rubber flooring (interest in environment, sports, children, Nike lovers)
• Cellphone collection for redistribution to various service organizations (interest in military, women, children, cellphone lovers)

Students, groups of students and/or their parents are encouraged to contact Nancy Gallant at Nancy@timewellspentonline.com  to learn more about volunteer service learning opportunities at Time Well Spent before making a commitment.

Welcome to the Time Well Spent blog! It’s a beginning of sorts, one that has been over a year in the making… Indeed, the term “beginning” is often used for the first step in a new phase, the classic example being “commencement” that happens at the end of high school.

And, so it should be. We move forward, only glancing back to fond memories and lessons learned (whether fond or not!)  wiser and more sure of ourselves for the past, but not dwelling on it.

So, glancing back can take place at my personal blog, Nancy Gallant’s Blog ~ My Castle in the Clouds – an online collection of ideas, values, connections and activities from my time spent researching and creating the Time Well Spent concept.

Here, my goal will be a more streamlined site that serves the mission, helping others to spend their time well for their own sake, the sake of those less fortunate, and as stewards to the environment. It is certainly a work in progress, one that will be shared, tweaked and updated along the way. Waiting for the creation of the perfected, completed blog is counterproductive, even naive. Certainly, websites are never complete, life is not perfect (and neither are websites) and there is much work to be done. So, as with all of my life that has led to my creation of this values-driven business called Time Well Spent, this blog, a key part of the entire Time Well Spent ONLINE webpresence, is a work in progress…

For now, as this blog and its parent website are created, visitors are encouraged to learn more about Time Well Spent at my personal blog, with the understanding that it is a bit of a mess, intentionally enough, as the goal was to get thoughts down and action taking place… And, so it did! 166 posts and 7400 blog hits later ~ with 865 hits for November ‘09 a high mark ~ it’s time to move on from the personal blog, though it will continue to exist as a location for my personal musings, local announcements and fyi’s regarding topics that don’t fit directly under the focus of Time Well Spent.

Feedback and ideas are always welcome. While my comprehensive vision and passion for my mission are the major impetuses propelling Time Well Spent forward, collaboration with people and organizations who share the desire to help others while helping themselves live a more purpose-driven, personally-fulfilling life will be a major key to success.

Carpe Diem ~

Nancy Gallant
Social Entrepreneur
Founder of Time Well Spent