There are a lot of things I do that I cannot give anyone a clear explanation on. Saturday is a good example. I spent my entire Saturday getting certified in CPR. For 8 hours I went through a standard Red Cross training and was tested at the end of the class.
It’s not difficult. Most of what they teach is, you know. So why did I give up a Saturday to do it? I can’t give you a solid reason except, I wanted to. There wasn’t any moral obligation to it. There wasn’t a need to do so because of family and friends. I just had to do it for me.
Sure the class was boring and unnecessarily long. Sure some of my fellow students could have used a shovel to the back of the head but I’m glad I did it.
I hope to God that I never have to use it on anyone but it’s still assuring to know that I’ve done it in front of someone and I know how to do it properly.
The reasons from my fellow classmates were varied but all fell along the same general areas: to graduate, to get a job, a newborn is in the house.
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be prepared for anything and everything. My brother and I watched as our parents cared for sick or injured people. All my dad wanted to do was to help. I suppose my brother and I have a piece of my dad in that aspect. We’re not medical professionals like he was but when we see someone hurt, we usually don’t turn away or cringe at the site of an injury.
If you haven’t been trained, I strongly encourage you to do so. Look up your local Y or Red Cross or even American Heart Association. Companies can also coordinate in house training where trainers from these organizations come to your office and teach the skills to your staff. I know the class is tedious, especially for rationale people, but the point is to drill the routine until it becomes route.
Oh, for anyone interested, I surpassed my goal for City Harvest’s Skip Lunch, Fight Hunger campaign. With the minimal effort I gave this year, compared to last, I was able to get my fellow friends, family and co-workers to donate over $500 to the ‘Feed the Kids’ campaign in NYC.
I was the crazy woman who was making all that noise baking the cookies at 2am last night. Sorry to my neighbors who had to deal with the clanging and wafting smells of fresh baked chocolate chip cherry walnut goodness. The cookies were a prize for the largest donation from a group within my donation pool. The winner was a division within my workplace. Surprisingly, my division at work was a poor participant. Oh well. I don’t like pressing people for donations so I’m just happy I beat my personal goal.
This summer, please consider doing some sort of volunteering or charity work. Even if it’s using your typing skills to print out mailers for the local park’s summer events calendar or donating some items to the PTA’s tag sale, it’s a little way of giving back.
By the way, not that anyone cares but at 66th street there was a bus that had a PSA that was eerily similar to JD's 'Don't beat your kids" PSA.
Related tags: volunteering, CPR
