Project Advent II needs your help!

Last year, I asked for your help with contributions to prepare a meal for the guests of Ronald McDonald House.  You not only came through, you overwhelmed me with the amount of support you provided.

I'd like to ask for your help again this year, but in a different way.  Actually, two different ways.

On Saturday, 12/22, I want to form a service strikeforce of anybody who wants to be a part of it, and I want to go knock out a year's worth of tasks in a single morning.  For this to happen, here's what I need:

1. A Suggested Recipient: Ideally, I'd like for us to go and assist somebody who really needs the help.  Somebody elderly or infirm, somebody who has a hard time doing for themselves.  If you know of somebody in Lubbock who could use a hand with some household tasks, maintenance, or repairs, please contact me, either through a comment on this entry or at dannyholwerda@yahoo.com.
2. A Whole Crew of Helpers: The list of things to be done will depend on who we go to help, but what I need the most is willing hands.  Whether they need trash hauled, grass mowed, repairs made, or paint applied, I want us to go and do whatever they need.

Can you help me with either of these?  I'm still amazed at the outpouring of love that my friends showed last year.  Amaze me again this year!  Let's make the weekend before Christmas a time when we give somebody a truly fantastic gift.

Project Advent II, Day 13: Innocence Project of Texas

Today I wanted to help an organization that I see literally almost every single day.  I work in downtown Lubbock, and a little over a year ago I noticed their office directly across the street from my own office.  Here's a picture to help you visualize it.

Now, without looking at the title of this blog post, can you guess which of those two offices I volunteered at today?

From their website:

The Innocence Project of Texas is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to securing the release of those wrongfully convicted of crimes in Texas and educating the public about the causes and effects of wrongful convictions. We operate out of our organizational headquarters located in Lubbock, Texas, but we evaluate claims of innocence made by individuals convicted of crimes across the state. On average, we receive more than 150 letters each week from individuals requesting our assistance on innocence cases. We currently have more than 500 cases in line for investigation.

I stopped in at their office a few weeks ago, and visited with Nick Vilbas, the executive director.  He told me some more about the Project and the kind of help they need.  Before IPOT will agree to help with a case, there are a few criteria they look for.  It must be a state, not federal, case.  The individual must have exhausted their direct appeals.  There must be some new piece of evidence that needs consideration.  Most importantly, the individual must claim actual innocence.  In other words, they must not have been involved in any fashion with the crime they are accused of, not just petitioning for release on a technicality.  Because of the huge volume of requests that IPOT receives, the biggest limiting factor they have is just getting enough people to put eyes on all of those letters.

One of IPOT's biggest cases so far was the exoneration of Timothy Cole.  Because this involved a case that happened here in Lubbock, it was in the local news a lot.  Mr. Cole died in prison while serving time for a rape which he did not commit, and which he was cleared of posthumously through DNA evidence and a confession from the man who actually committed the crime.

Because I'm not a lawyer, or even law student, I'm not really qualified to do most of the work that they need done, but there's one thing that 15 years of office life have prepared me to do, and that's filing documents.  When I crossed the street today, Jennifer the intern explained their filing system to me, showed me a cart full of letters and case documents, and set me loose on the cabinets.  I finished the stack just as I finished the hour.

On the way out, I stopped to talk with Nick again, and to thank him for letting me come.  IPOT is an organization that I'm going to find a way to make time for during the year ahead.

Affirmation Project: Rachel Rieckhoff, you've been one of my truest friends for two decades.  Nothing I can even say here can begin to thank you (and now your family, too) for the highs and lows that you've shared with me and my family.

Project Advent II, Day 12: All Saints Chess Club

Today was the halfway point of Project Advent II!  Less than two weeks now until Christmas.  Are you enjoying the anticipation, the expectation, and the preparation?  Are you finding a way to make Advent mean something?

Today was also the second of my three scheduled visits to the All Saints chess club.  It was a pretty small group today, but that was OK.  It just meant that I got to play more with the kids who were there.  Like I mentioned last week, I've noticed that some of the kids are struggling with the fundamentals of the game, so I picked up something extra when I was shopping for yesterday's entry.

It doesn't show up well in this picture, but it's a chess set with information about each piece printed on its base, to show players what moves each piece can legally make.  I'm hoping that it'll help some of the newer kids figure out the game a little bit more quickly.

Here's Blake eating grapes.  I just thought it was a funny picture.

Nothing too exciting to report from today's hour of service, but it was still a nice time.  I have a couple of good ones coming up in the next few days!

Affirmation Project: Justin and Laura, you are one of the funnest, coolest, most interesting couples that Courtney and I know!  You have always been so supportive to us, and we count ourselves lucky to know your beautiful family.

Project Advent II, Day 11: Angel Tree

Today was BIZ-ZAY.  Courtney worked last night, so I got the kiddos all dressed and off to school this morning.  Then there were a few fires to put out at the office, followed by our office Christmas party at lunch time.  Our office parties are usually a good time, and there was fajitas to eat (and a cake that my coworker Earlene, the amazing baker, made), so I didn't want to miss that.  That ruled out lunch time for service today.  Came home, had dinner with the family, and then went up to church for a two hour church council/charge conference meeting.  And just like that, the day was pretty much gone!

But as I walked out of church tonight, I realized what a rare circumstance I was in.  I was out on my own, with no children, and Courtney was home with them.  I called her and asked if I could go out to do a little Christmas shopping for the kids.  I think she was relieved at the thought of not having to do it herself, so she instantly said yes.  I ran back into the church and grabbed a card from the angel tree that they had set up.  Here's the one I took:

As you can see, there's no identifying information, just an age and sex, a number to connect it to the child who made the wish list, and then the items on the list.  But I picked this one because I felt like I knew this boy.  He likes trains, bikes, animals, scooters, and gadgets: if he was just two years older, this kid could be Blake.  We couldn't do every single thing on the list, but here's part of what he'll be getting.

In addition, we got him a few pairs of blue jeans and several shirts.  Boy #84, I may never meet you, but I love you, and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Affirmation Project: I had the chance to sit by the newest pastor on FUMC's staff tonight, Rev. Bailey Barkley.  He's been with our church a fairly short time, just about six months, but he's done so much already.  When Blake made his first trip to church camp this summer, Bailey was the counselor who stayed in his cabin, and Blake came back full of stories about the cool new pastor.  He's been a big part of starting some new ministries that have really taken off.  Most of all, he's just a really good guy.  I'm looking forward to the chance to know him better.

Project Advent II, Day 10: The Bridge of Lubbock

I just sat down to type and ended up falling asleep for an hour and a half.  Oops.  Going to keep this one a little bit shorter than usual.

The Bridge is a multi-pronged outreach center, located in a building that used to be an elementary school.  They offer hot meals, an after-school program, a children's health clinic, and a free clothes closet.  When I filled out a volunteer application their director, Ashley, contacted me almost immediately to tell me that she loved the idea of Project Advent, and would love if I came out to help with their clothes closet today.

In 1984-85, I was actually bussed to this school, back when it was Posey Elementary.  Pulling up to the building and walking in was a real flashback.  I found Ashley, and she showed me to the room where the clothes closet is.  There were only a few folks getting things that they needed, and other volunteers were taking care of that.  In the next room, though, was a huge mound of coats.  The staff needed these coats separated out into size and gender, so that's what I spent the next hour doing.

As I sorted coats, one thought stood out to me, and it was this: women, why do you settle for the crazy confusion that is sizing of women's clothes?  Sorting the men's coats was incredibly easy: S, M, L, XL.  Done.  Women's?  8, 10, 12, 14, but then sometimes one of them says Petite, but then sometimes one has a number that's smaller than the number on another coat but it's actually bigger than the other coat because there's also a letter next to the number.  Craziness.

Affirmation project: Laura Blevins, you have been my friend through thick and thin for over a decade now.  You are so selfless, and you see things about me before I see them myself.  You make me face hard truths in a loving way.  You're a rockstar of a mom.  Thanks for everything.  (Also, I do still plan to collect that shipment of cookies that I bought during your bake sale someday.)

Project Advent II, Day 9: Meals on Wheels

Like I mentioned last Sunday, our Sundays stay pretty busy.  Last year, I used my contributions as emergency service replacements, but felt a little guilty about them.  This year, I purposely planned them for my Sundays, and set my mind at ease.  I want this project to be about cheerful service, not stressful service.

A few weeks ago, I received something in the mail from Lubbock's Meals on Wheels, asking for contributions for holiday meals.  Everybody is familiar with Meals on Wheels, right?  It's a program for homebound or challenged people, many of them elderly, to receive hot, nutritious meals delivered right to their homes.  Along with the food, the recipients also have somebody checking on them, talking with them, breaking the isolation that so many in that situation experience.  The Lubbock Meals on Wheels program has been delivering meals for over 40 years, and is entirely funded by community donations.

What was neat about the mailing they sent is that it had a special placemat that you could add your own message to and send in along with your donation, and then the placemat will be delivered to one of the meal recipients.  Instead of writing something on it myself, I thought it would be fun to let the kids color it and add their own messages.  When I told them what it was for, they loved the idea, and really treated it like something special.

I had such a good time watching them make the placemat, that when they asked me if we could go swimming afterwards, I couldn't say no, even though it was only about 40 degrees outside.  Swimming ended up being a blast, though.  There were two people swimming laps in the lap lanes, but we had the entire pool to ourselves aside from them.  Jack was especially thrilled; he jumped off the side of the pool into my arms, and then put his face about an inch from mine and beamed, "I'M HAVING THE BEST DAY, DADDY!"  He was right: it was a really nice day.

Affirmation Project: If the phrase that I used in the first paragraph, "cheerful service," means anything special to you, then you may also be a member of the Order of the Arrow.  If I made a list of the five most influential things in my life, Boy Scouts would easily, easily make it on that list.  I was a pretty bookish, solitary kid, and I didn't even want to join Scouts when my dad made me.  It turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to me.  Scouts made me into the person I am today.  It taught me to work with my peers, and to develop leadership not only in myself, but also to help develop it in others.  It instilled in me a love of the outdoors and of trying new things.  And, you know, it was just a lot of fun.  Mr. James Harris, my Scoutmaster, shaped my life and the lives of so many others.  Doing a project like Project Advent only occurred to me at all because of the brotherhood of cheerful service that I was fortunate to be a part of.

Project Advent II, Day 8: Science Spectrum Holiday Wonderland

Man, another busy day here, but a good one.  Blake's cub scout pack put out fliers during their Monday meeting for the annual Scouting for Food canned food drive.  I took him back through the neighborhood that he papered on Monday, and we picked up the sacks of food that people had left out.  Actually, about the first half of the neighborhood hadn't left out any sacks, and Blake grew more and more incensed as we walked down the street: "Daddy!  Do people not know that there are other people who are hungry?!?"  Fortunately, the second half of the neighborhood was much more productive, and he was much more happy.

That thing in his left hand is a paper Chinese fan.  I wondered why he had picked it up on a morning when it was forty degrees outside, but soon figured out that he planned to use it to signal me while I drove.  He had this whole little set of movements to tell me whether I should slow down, speed up, or stop.  It was like watching one of those dudes on the runway of an airport, only more adorable.

After we dropped off the food, I took the kids to Holland Gardens for a while to look at all the trees and decorations.  Ava felt strongly that we should get the pink tree with the pink lights.

Jack was into the Storm Trooper nutcracker.

After the store and a little lunch, I took Blake with me to the Science Spectrum, Lubbock's top-notch children's science museum.  My kids are big fans of the Science Spectrum; we've had a membership for the last few years, and they never, ever get tired of going there.  To tell the truth, I almost never do, either.  Today was their Holiday Wonderland event, which was open to the public. It's a neat mix of fun crafts and activities, as well as some winter-related science projects.  Blake and I were asked to man a table where children could make reindeer or penguin sack puppets.  It was fun!

He got a little restless, though.  Right behind us, there was a projector set up playing videos of Christmas music, and kids would come by and dance.  I don't know where Blake gets it, because it's sure not from me and Courtney, but he's got some seriously impressive moves.  How good?  Good enough that these two girls asked if I'd take their picture with him.

That's my boy.

Affirmation Project: My manager Randy is also a dad, of two kids close to my kids' age.  Maybe that's why he's always so understanding when I need a little flexibility to do something with my family.  He's patient and encouraging to me, and makes Vista Bank a better place to work.