VOLUME XV - Goodbye

To Appear in The Central Record

Dear South Jersey,

Well, I had a feeling this time was going to come soon. Yes, that’s right. It is officially time for me to say my goodbyes to my wonderful and loyal readers.

I have been offered a job with another publication and will be moving out to Limerick, Pa. Unfortunately, that means my ventures around South Jersey will be coming to an end.

I would like to first say thank you to all of the readers who kept a watchful eye on what I was doing. I hope that you enjoyed what I had to say, took advantage of the information I presented and sparked an interest in volunteerism in your own lives in some way, shape or form.

I also would like to thank all of the organizations that cooperated with me and let me learn more about them and volunteer with them. From Kara Thornton and the United Way to Janet Jackson-Gould, Tracey Femiano and the Medford Arts Center to Joe Elliot, Mike Dzwill and YMCA Camp Ockanickon – you were all great and I loved every minute of it all!

I want to make mention to a few people and organizations that got lost in the shuffle of a busy life and a pending shift in my career. To Paws Farm Nature Center, Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuse, Petsmart Adoption Center, the Yellow Ribbon Club, Samaritan Hospice and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Walk MS Medford Lakes: I’m sorry that we did not get to work together, but I would still promote everything you do. My only regret is not giving South Jersey the full benefit of what they received when I volunteered with the aforementioned organizations. Best of luck to you all.

To the Central Record and Journal Register Company, thank you for the great opportunities you gave me to grow. I will never forget where I came from.

To Susan Miller, my editor: You were a guiding light in my young journalism career. Without you, there would be no professional me. Without your constant kind words, encouragement, criticism and words of advice, I would be less of a journalist. To think, I walked into your office one day and became your next beat reporter… What a kind and welcoming person you truly are. I will miss you and the rest of the South Jersey Local News staff. To you all: Keep in touch!

Thank you everyone for your support. Best wishes to all and for one final time…

Take Care.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME XIV – The Other Side of Club Sports

Dear South Jersey,

Back when I first got this thing started, I made specific reference to the great volunteerism that is parental volunteerism in youth sports. You can read all about the great things that were happening in both Bucks County and Cinnaminson here.

However, more recently, I found that not everything is crystal clear and picture perfect for youth sports. I’ve been in contact with one club in particular concerning their parental volunteerism, and while the involved parents are an amazing help, the quantity of help is simply not enough.

Lenape Junior Wrestling has existed since 1996 in the Grapevine Wrestling League, which now hones over 48 teams in the area. In their glory days, they carried about 80-100 kids on the team. Now, the team is struggling to survive and the status of the club is in flux going in to the 2011-2012 school year.

I recently spoke with head coach and commissioner Anthony Iuliano and one of his assistant coaches Andy Samson for an article that will be appearing in The Central Record about their plight as a club, and they made me aware of how dire their situation truly is.

“I’m not from New Jersey,” Samson said. “I grew up in New York. I don’t know if things have changed, but when I was growing up, there were barely any programs for wrestling. You have the infrastructure here. You have 45 townships that have anywhere from 50-100 kids. You have a great support structure and a great system in place.”

Samson and Iuliano are currently working hand-and-hand with the Mount Laurel Board of Education to try to get the word out better. Since the board’s policy on disseminating information via paper to children in school is quite restrictive, the club is trying to either overturn that policy or find other ways of getting the word out.

“We just have to get the word out,” said Samson. “I don’t think the issue is convincing people that wrestling is a great sport. I think it’s more an issue of ‘I didn’t know you guys existed. I didn’t know you guys were here.’ Sometimes when we put signs up on public property, they’re removed. Not by anyone we know, but they are. Those are the obstacles we’re having. We just can’t get parent volunteers that are really cyclical.”

Iuliano has been heading up the club and volunteering a huge chunk of his time for the past six years. He will be stepping down next year, but has no problem doing behind the scenes work for the club. Samson, along with four other parents, is very dedicated and will do everything short of running the club. The club just needs that one person to take over.

It will sort of be a trickle-down effect for the club if they are able to get the word out and increase membership. They’ve seen in the past that the more members there are, the more parents want to become involved and the more the club flourishes.

The most unique thing about the club itself is the fact that it is not restrictive in who it takes in. Beginners from any age can come in and learn the basics. It’s a very rewarding process.

“The greatest accomplishment that I’ve had at doing this is seeing a kid with zero experience and by the end of the year, the kid’s a wrestler,” said Iuliano. “There are growing pains. Deer in headlights, but by year end the kids are going at it. That’s fantastic to see, because the kids have matured as young adults. They start becoming confident in themselves, even if a kid loses every match, because they go the distance for themselves.”

So, South Jersey, and Mount Laurel residents in particular… I encourage you to check out Lenape Junior Wrestling’s website at: http://www.lenapejrwrestling.com. I also encourage you, if you are interested, to support the club in any way that you can.

Our children need parental volunteers more than ever. I firmly believe that sports are the best personal development tool a young individual can have in their lives. I would hate to see one avenue of achieving that personal development be taken away because of poor awareness.

Take care.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME XIII – A Nostalgic Crew

Dear South Jersey,

After just experiencing the death of one of America’s most hated enemies in recent weeks, it is only appropriate that my next blog comes to you in praise of our military.

And as we continue our journey through the many avenues of volunteerism in the area, nothing is more historic and glorified than our very own Battleship New Jersey, which is now stationed in Camden as a museum for all to enjoy.

I recently spoke with a volunteer from the New Jersey for an article that will run in The Central Record; however, I also wanted to share with you some of the opportunities and good stories that docent and Military Liaison Officer of the Battleship New Jersey Walt Urban passed along to me.

Most volunteerism for the New Jersey occurs on the weekends, unless of course there is a big event being planned that needs special attention during the week. There are literally dozens of interested and dedicated people who serve as docents for the ship. A docent is essentially a knowledgeable tour guide who leads hour and 45 minute tours for groups of 12-15 people around the ship.

Along with the docents, there are also volunteers that clean the brass all around the ship and volunteers that do radio work, as well. To Urban’s knowledge, there are something close to 800,000 hours of volunteerism that have gone into the ship since it opened up as a museum in October 2001.

“There’s just an incredible amount of people who are excited to come on down to the ship. It’s not all Navy types,” Urban said. “We’ve got a variety of Army, Air Force, civilians who have never served in the military who are very anxious to come in and gain the experience of what it’s like to be a volunteer on the Battleship.”

Most anyone can serve as a volunteer for the New Jersey. The staff just asks that interested parties go through a training program, which runs about six nights. Once that is taken, potential volunteers must take an exam, and when that’s passed, people can volunteer whenever they please.

“The docent community on board is great,” said Urban. “We’re all there because we want to be there. So nobody has an attitude except positive. We all want to do a good job for the ship, showcase the ship and tell the ship’s story. So, from that standpoint, there’s a great deal of camaraderie amongst those in the community.”

Urban and his colleagues meet on the weekends to plan out their tours. People love coming out to see them.

“We have a little lounge there where we get together in the morning and have coffee and get ready for the tours,” Urban said. “We compare notes on what’s going on. It’s a good bonding thing. The ship is a great catalyst for that. Everybody is there because of the ship and everybody loves the ship for one reason or another. They have some special interests, like myself, having served on her and being just a battleship aficionado is one of the reasons why I enjoy coming down here and helping out.”

The ship just had a big event on April 30 to open up spaces on ship for a Marine detachment. On Memorial Day Weekend, they will also be holding a big ceremony to unveil the newest addition to the ship: the opening of the gun turrets, which was not accessible before. Now, tourists can go inside the gun turrets and see what it was like inside those chambers.

“If you haven’t been down to see the ship, certainly the new exhibits are something you want to see for the first time. It’s going to be a very unique experience,” Urban said.

Urban’s favorite feature of the ship would have to be the encampment programs on Friday and Saturday nights, where kids groups (sometimes in the lower range of 300) can come and spend the night on the ship. Boy scouts, girl scouts, you name it – the ship has done it.

It’s probably the best program we have to offer, honestly,” said Urban. “It’s the most enthusiastically supported by parents, who come out as chaperones and get to spend the night with their children. Everyone walks off the ship the following day with a smile.”

Overall, I was very pleased to speak with Urban and hear all of his great stories. He gave me the complete rundown of the ship, both physically and historically.

I encourage you to keep an eye out in The Central Record for more about Urban’s remarkable story and to go down to see the Battleship New Jersey yourself for an even more detailed experience. Don’t forget, anyone can volunteer, so go inquire today!

Take care.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME XII – Field Work Part II

Dear South Jersey,

I’m sad to say that I’ve completed my work at YMCA Camp Ockanickon. Yet another great venture that this blogging opportunity has brought me in life.

The last we left off, I had some fun playing in the leaves, picking up sticks, cleaning up areas and making sure all of the cabins are safe and sound. In my last week of work, I was able to do some even more useful work for the camp and took on a new role as lumberjack.

My next assignment was to go out onto a far trail along the lake where kids and camp counselors meet over a bonfire at night time. The area was filled with pine needles and used firewood.

I was asked to take the old firewood and stack it between two trees and to rake the area; however, most importantly, I was asked to do a more daunting task. With an ax in hand, I prepared myself to split about 30 tree stumps into quarters and stack them on top of the old firewood so the kids would have new firewood to burn this summer.

The stumps were previously used for kids to sit on around the fire, but the camp is now installing about five handmade benches around the area.

So I went to work. Over the course of two days, I grabbed stump after stump and heaved them one by one onto a base. Then, I would raise the heavy ax over my head and take my big swing in hopes of giving the log a perfect split.

Through my journey, I had some good splits and some not so successful cuts. But I also met some new “friends in the process.”

First of all, in splitting logs that are beginning to dry rot, you get to see some bugs that you thought you’d never see. If you’re a late-80s, early-90s kid like I was (or a parent of one), I’m sure you’ll remember Creepy Crawlers – that little mock-easy bake oven where you create little gelatin insects. Well, let’s just say I found Creepy Crawler Hell in these logs.

On the first day, I also saw some friendlier creatures. I’m not sure, but I think I may have seen a baby chameleon. When I picked up one of the logs, I saw a small, brown lizard, and as he scurried away he turned a pale green color. It may have been the hot sun and the sweat in my eyes, but I saw what my mind told me I saw, I suppose.

I also ran into two little frogs. They sat patiently as I worked and watched me split the logs. Then, they disappeared as I was stacking the wood.

I had a lot of fun doing this task and it was so rewarding when it was all done and the finished product revealed itself to me.

My final task was to lug fresh 4x4s down to a manmade bridge that kids frequent and pull up any unsafe boards that could break given too much weight. I tore up about 10 boards total and put new ones down, avoiding dragonflies and seeing snakes, geese and chipmunks along the way.

As I walked back to my car with the last of the old planks tucked securely under my arm, I wiped the sweat off my brow and dropped the wood. I took a deep breath and peered out to the lake and took in my last bit of nature. I clasped my hands together and dipped them in the clear water and set off into the sunset.

Thank you again to Ocky and all of its eager members. I hope you all have a successful and safe summer and I hope that I was of help in your effort to prepare for it. If I do remain in the area in my lifetime, rest assured, I’ll be back to help some more.

Take care.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME XI – Thank You, Not Farewell

Dear South Jersey,

In a week where the sun shined heavily through the clouds, although our most trusted weathermen called for rain the entire week, I come to you humbled and with a smile on my face.

Today’s rain and overcast skies came appropriately as I gave my final presentation on social media and events marketing to my beloved Medford Arts Center.

In previous posts, you may have read that throughout the month of March I helped the MAC with getting a new Facebook Fan Page up, linking it to their Twitter account and also getting their events in various newspapers throughout South Jersey and Philadelphia.

In speaking with some of the members of the MAC today and teaching them what I know, I was made aware that at the last event held at the center, people came from unheard of towns for such exhibits. When asked where they heard about the event, they told center volunteers that they saw the event in the newspaper.

How rewarding to have heard such great news! These are the types of things you can experience, South Jersey! This is what it’s all about and without this blog, not only would I not be able to inform you, the community, of all of these opportunities, but I myself would not have known either.

I would like to extend my greatest gratitude to Tracey Femiano and Janet Jackson Gould for taking me in with all smiles and helping me grow as a person and a volunteer. I hope that we will keep in touch for a long time over the course of our futures.

I would also like to say best of luck to Tracey, along with Lou Dallara and Elaine Walsh, in continuing to make the Facebook page grow and continuing to increase foot traffic at the MAC via media coverage.

So, this is certainly not goodbye to the MAC. Anything you guys need, please don’t hesitate to shout out to me. But it is thank you. Thank you for one hell of an experience. You are wonderful people.

Stay tuned for a special post on another type of volunteering within the next few days, South Jersey. Until then, keep your eyes open and always make your best effort to give back to those who need your help.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME X – Field Work Part I

Dear South Jersey,

So after helping out with the Medford Arts Center’s social media (by the way – make sure you “Like” the new Medford Arts Center Facebook Fan Page), I decided to pledge a month’s worth of work to YMCA Camp Ockanickon.

I’m about halfway through my work with “Ocky” and I must say I’m yet again having a blast! On the other end of the spectrum, this job entails less computer work and a lot more manual labor. To me, though? It’s all the same.

Regardless, so far, I have been treated extremely well by the entire staff at Ocky. The people I deal with are friendly, knowledgeable and hard-working. The people that pass by as I work greet me with smiles and hello’s. I am very happy to be helping out and even happier to know that the small amount of work I do (about six hours a week) benefits the children who get to enjoy something I never did as a child.

So far so good, as I like to say, and thank you to all who have greeted me with a smile. I will enjoy my final two weeks at the camp as much as the first few. So, without further ado, here is my chronicle of the first half of volunteerism for YMCA Camp Ockanickon…

My first week, I was able to stay close by to the workshop and do some maintenance work. My first assignment was to rake some leaves out of the “firewood area” and clean up some other rubbish.

Do you remember those so-called “decorative” lawn ornaments we used to fill up with leaves back in the 80s and 90s for Halloween? You know, the ones that once filled up would look like giant pumpkins or spiders or insert-generic-Halloween-cliché-here? Then, we realized that it was just a glorified way of putting all of our leaves in one place until it got wet and nasty again.

Well, I wish for one day I could have all the glorified decoration trash bags in the world to see how many I could fill up with the leaves I raked. Actually, it wasn’t that bad, I just wanted to reference a former trend that is long forgotten now.

Anyway, aside from that, I did stack the firewood up in that area and then was asked to move on to my next project – picking up branches from a wooded area near the workshop.

Now, this task, I was able to use some tools, including saws and clippers. It was some real man-work, but nothing anyone with arms and legs can’t handle. It took me about six hours total to complete the job, but the area is nice and clear of large and obstructable branches!

Next, I was asked to check the insides of 32 cabins that children call home for the summer and make sure they had all of the essentials: a broom, a trash can and a WORKING smoke detector.

I was able to swiftly move through cabin-to-cabin with ease and mark my findings on a checklist for the maintenance staff to reinsure. This was quite rewarding, because I really felt as though I was providing safety for the kids.

Again… overall I have really enjoyed this experience so far and am looking forward to the rest of my time at Ocky. Today, I started a new project and will be happy to tell you all about my last two weeks in what will be Volume XII of The Do-Gooder’s Diary. In the meantime, be on the lookout for a short feature on another volunteering op in the South Jersey area and make sure you’re keeping up with The Central Record for all of your South Jersey local news.

Thanks for reading and I’ll be checking back soon!

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME IX – Digitally Volunteering

To Appear in The Central Record

Dear South Jersey,

I’d first like to extend my sincerest apologies for the lack of activity on The Do-Gooder’s Diary for the month of March. With an increased volume of writing and the volunteering project that I’ve been working on, it has been tough to me to work my way around to the blog.

What I will say to you, oh loyal fans, is that this will certainly not be a growing trend as my volunteerism increases (which I’m happy to say it will be for the month of April!).

With all of that said, I can happily say that I’ve been having lots of fun with my current project at the Medford Arts Center. As you’ve noticed through these nine blogs, my adventures of spanned through a few venues, including the MAC, YMCA Camp Ockanickon and the United Way. However, much of my initial work has been with the MAC.

Tracey Femiano of the MAC gave me a little internet/press marketing project to work on for them, and despite my newness to the internet marketing game, I took the project on with a full head of steam and have completed my tasks thus far.

I must say that being able to learn the ropes of internet marking and harnessing my already “decent” powers in social media has been quite refreshing.

You see, South Jersey, with these acts and more, I am able to add a few chapters of knowledge, excitement, happiness, experience and capability to the Kevin Haslam Book of Life (and it’s not so bad for the resume, too!).

So, I encourage you to keep an eye out on the websites and on the pages of the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer for up-to-date events that are occurring at the Medford Arts Center.

I encourage you to “follow” the MAC on Twitter @medfordarts, and “Like” us on Facebook: Medford Arts Center.

And keep on following The Do-Gooder’s Diary as I continue my journey into the world of South Jersey volunteerism. In April, I’ve got definite plans of putting in some manual labor at YMCA Camp Ockanickon, and I will be opening up communication with the Yellow Ribbon Club and Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Reserve.

It surely has been a pleasure working on my first volunteering project! I’ve made a few new friends, and gained a little bit as a human being, too. Don’t hesitate to inquire about what you can do at the Medford Arts Center, art enthusiasts! www.artsinmedford.org

Yours,

Kevin Haslam