Typically on the weekend I wake up, work until noon, go for a run, bike ride, kayak or boat ride, make dinner, eat and play a little World of Warcraft. (Horde Rocks!)
This weekend was different. Instead of fighting murlocks I was fighting blight.
Recently I joined a networking group called Motor City Connect to learn more about the area. As a result I’ve met some exceptional people and found a few interesting events to attend!
Through Motor City Connect, I learned of an opportunity to hear Gary Keller of Keller Williams Realty speak, then I signed up for a tour of Detroits Public Art through the Urban Land Institute with the Detroit Athletic Association and yesterday I got to “fight blight” with the Motor City Blight Busters.
Blightbusters was founded 10 years ago on the principal of stabilizing, revitalizing and rejuvenating the city of Detroit.
My 13 year old son and I joined a Motor City Connect group and decided to pitch in for a few hours. Judging by how sore I am today… I did a good job!
This was one of several weekends that had been spent at this site so when we arrived several men were working hard to remove the main floor since nothing else of the house remained above. We shoveled debris consisting of dirt, bricks, and various household treasures into buckets that were dumped and loaded with long nail embedded planks onto a dump truck. The truck was carefully packed to utilize all the space.
My son and I were there less than 3 hours but when we left we were tired, dirty and elated. It was a
great experience for both of us. He learned that helping others was a rewarding experience and I was thankful to spend time with him while we worked together.
Thank you to Terry Bean of Networked Inc. and Charlie Wollborg of Curve Detroit for organizing this event. Read Terry’s accounting of the day here.
Although I my initial thought was to do something that would impact the city of Detroit, I discovered I got more from participating than I gave. When you volunteer are you surprised to discover that what begins as a gift you give to some one else becomes an unexpected gift that you get instead?
[…] were the two speakers booked to present at MIVA. I went because I had recently met them at a Blight Busters event and found them to be motivational, charming and very entertaining. I knew the presentation […]