VOLUME VIII – Brotherly Love

Dear South Jersey,

Our buddy Punxsutawney Phil has given us a hopeful forecast for the rest of the winter and I couldn’t be happier! I’m sure you feel the same way.

However, in the midst of the (keep your fingers crossed) upcoming warm weather, I’d like to reflect back on the winter that was…

If I’m not mistaken, the month of January marked one of, if not the largest accumulation of snow in one month’s time in recent history. It was hectic, it was cold, it was bitter and there was a whole hell of a lot of snow out there to clean up!

Now, there are two sides to my plight… As a side job, I walk dogs for a living, all in this area. As a walker, it is extremely inconvenient and dangerous for me and my clients to walk on a sidewalk that hasn’t been shoveled.

I’ve seen the worst of it this year: both ice and snow, and with a recently reconstructed knee, I don’t want any further tears to set me back because someone is too lazy to shovel their property. Most of the communities I walk in are quite affluent. Now, the affluent had to be worth as much as they are for some reason, right? A hard working personality is most likely much needed for this type of lifestyle. So, why is it that some sidewalks remain covered in snow until it goes away on its own? You can pay someone if it’s that bad!

On the other side of the situation, I do understand that there are those out there that are physically unable to do this job. Such circumstances may include old age, physical injuries, time restraints or the kids are too young to shovel this year.

Therefore, I’d like to reflect upon the best kind of volunteerism out there… the exact factor in this particular area that defines a good volunteer: Brotherly Love.

My parents have seen their better years of shoveling snow… As a recent college graduate, I live at home and not only help my own financial situation, but my parents’ as well, at the current moment. Regardless of that situation, I am the designated shoveler.

After the last big snow storm in January, I began shoveling the one-foot-plus of snow the morning after the storm. My next door neighbors have a snow blower and had no trouble doing their sidewalks and driveway. They began their day with no worries.

But, the guy down the street had a snow blower, as well. God bless his soul: he took his snow blower all around the eight house radius surrounding his house and cleared the sidewalks and driveways of his neighbors.

Scott is new to my community, and beings that we live in Delran, he probably won’t read this, but he showed a true mark of volunteerism through Brotherly Love.

So, South Jersey, I didn’t mean to preach, but I’m passionate about the point: be a good neighbor… if you can afford to spend the extra time to help a neighbor, please do. That can serve as the best form of volunteerism if you’re looking for the opportunity!

Thanks Scott in Delran!

My meeting with Tracey Femiano of the Medford Arts Center is this Friday. More to come. Check out The Central Record this week for my February review!

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME VII – Social Volunteerism

Happy Valentine’s Day South Jersey!

I tell you what… You get an image imbedded in your brain for so many years and it’s tough to shake it out!

For so long, I always thought volunteerism meant serving up soup in a soup kitchen or being a firefighter, unpaid. But, now I have been able to see so many different opportunities!

Some serve the greater good and the less fortunate, others serve the community and its needs, while even still, others serve a purpose outside the realm of normal volunteerism.

And that’s what it’s like at the Medford Arts Center. The MAC’s purpose is to preserve an artful spirit within the community of South Jersey.

I recently went to a juried exhibition held at the MAC on Friday, Feb. 11 to view some very good photography and see what it’s all about. I was very impressed with the scene I stepped into.

Normally, a show like that would have live music playing lightly for gallery guests to enjoy; however, Exhibition Coordinator Tracey Femiano indicated that she held off on booking a band because she wasn’t sure what the weather would be like.

Much like 98% of the staff at the MAC, Tracey is a volunteer. She volunteers her time in setting up exhibitions and coordinating with the juror(s), who selects what art appears in a designated show, and picks award winners, thereafter.

Tracey’s job seemed pretty hectic, but she handled it well. As a matter of fact, all four of the volunteers walked around with smiles on their faces as the light social gathering unraveled.

Tracey and Janet Jackson Gould were on board, as usual, and two volunteers joined them as hosts, who were responsible for greeting guests, sharing information and checking out the occasional purchase.

Hosts are overseen by Yole Patterson, who organizes volunteers to host these types of events. She described her job as making lots of phone calls and coordinating timetables and schedules with her volunteers.

Patterson wanted me to remind you, South Jersey, that the symphony orchestra will be put on by the MAC at the St. Peter’s Church on May 1!

The Medford Arts Center only takes serious volunteers. You don’t just show up off the street. If you love art (whether it be photography, painting, digital art, music or acting), you’ll find a home in the Medford Arts Center.

The gallery featured some wonderful photographs, ranging in prices of $60 - $430. Some pieces were not for sale. There were about 50 people in attendance. It was light, peaceful, fun and interesting.

The next show is on April 1 and will feature an “Anything on Paper” theme (except photography).

I’ll be meeting with Tracey Femiano on Feb. 25 to discuss potential opportunities for me to volunteer and share my experiences with you, South Jersey! Look for that and more on Camp Ockinickon and other great opportunities as we progress through February and into March!

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME VI – Pick Your Niche

Dear South Jersey,

What’s your niche? Are you a blue collar, manual labor machine? Do you have efficiencies in accounting? How about computers? Are you a writer? Do you have experience in mediating people?

Whatever it may be, you can use that very skill of yours at YMCA Camp Ockinickon! The Y is a volunteer based organization. They have about 20 people on regular salary, but much like the United Way, their Board of Directors is entirely made up of volunteers.

The camp itself teaches four core values: Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility and is specifically geared for kids ranging from ages 7 – 16. There is also a School’s Out program in the summers for boys, girls, families, and will even put on group retreats for scouts, businesses and youth groups. Other programs include cooking courses, wilderness survival camps, climbing courses and breakfasts with Santa and the Easter Bunny.

I recently toured the 600 acre camp, located off of Stokes Road past the Trading Post, with Senior Program Director Joe Elliot. He had some very nice insights that revealed that almost anyone with a clean background and an open window of availability can volunteer with the camp, year-round!

The camp is actively soliciting volunteers for anything and everything they can get. For example…

Peer mediators, sports teams and even the National Honors Society at Shawnee High School have come out and helped clean the property and cabins before, but they aren’t the only people that can come out to clean the property. According to Elliot families looking to give back to the community can do work on a daily or weekly basis at the camp, as long as they are able to.

While people looking to fulfill small amounts of community service hours probably won’t fit in at Ockinickon, they will take people that can do a few weeks.

There are also two featured volunteer weekends per year. There is one before summer and one before winter. The weekend does cost a little bit of money, but that is mainly for food for the weekend. The weekends are labeled “Roll Your Sleeves Up” weekends.

So, South Jersey, I would strongly encourage checking this one out. Like I said, whether you have a skill or not, you can certainly find a place to volunteer there, especially if you’re looking for regular work.

Elliot referenced two remarkable guys that have taken full advantage of their personal skillsets to help the camp out.

Dave Crane has volunteered in maintenance for a number of years. According to Elliot, Crane is very handy and will make his rounds to fix bumps and bruises around the camp.

Another interesting volunteer is Bernie Hoski, who does astronomy programs all over South Jersey, but specifically likes to use the camp’s observatory. Hoski brings schools and mens groups out to the observatory and perform night sky programs with the groups. He refuses any type of award or money from the camp. Elliot recognized the great amount of passion that Hoski has for the YMCA.

Overall, Elliot wanted to stress that the camp hones a “what can you do for us” type attitude. So, come out with your sleeves rolled up and your mind open to showing off your skills. Camp Ockinickon would love your help!

Throughout February and March, Elliot will be hooking me up with various opportunities to volunteer with the camp. I will be reporting back periodically to let you, the volunteers of South Jersey, know just what to expect when volunteering at the camp!

Stay tuned, South Jersey. Up next will be a review of the Medford Arts Center’s upcoming show on Feb. 11.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam

VOLUME V – Irony and Art

Dear South Jersey,

It’s been a while, I know. We’ve got some catching up to do. So, I’ll be posting up two blogs this week. More on the second blog later. Let’s get down to business on what I think it quite the ironic situation (well, for me at least).

About seven years ago, I walked into an old, rickety building in hopes of starting my journalism career out. Have you ever read the “Teen Voice” section of the Burlington County Times? I’m not quite sure if they still do it, but when I was involved, it was a monthly section placed in the newspaper that featured the writing of some of South Jersey’s most eager high school journalism students.

Given the opportunity, I wrote a few articles for the section before heading off to Penn State University to prepare for the real thing. It’s very funny to look back at those articles now.

I’m still young and fresh in the business and make a few mistakes here and there, but it’s great to go through your progressions and see how you’ve evolved in your life. It’s almost like hearing my first radio show, compared to my last. I’ll be keeping that first one locked in a vault somewhere for my great grandchildren to find, someday – that is if they can find a device that still plays minidiscs by then.

Anyway, I digress. Walking out of that rickety building for the last time, I never knew what would become of it. I always figured the Times would have two locations… The one in Willingboro and the one in Medford, which was the one I am referring to.

Little did I know, walking into the Medford Arts Center last week that I was walking into that same building. It was like a time warp I wasn’t even aware of!

You see, back in 1997, a group was appointed by the township to be a cultural arts commission in Medford. That lasted about 12 years before a new regime was formed.

“Funds were low, so they formed ‘Friend of Cultural Arts,’” said Janet Jackson Gould, whom I met with on Jan. 20. What a kind and knowledgeable lady she is, by the way.

Despite the formation of this group, there was never a physical location for them to call home. Then, on Apr. 1, 2009, the old Times building was leased as the Medford Arts Center. The township has been helping with the lease, gradually giving the MAC more fiscal responsibility, and as soon as next year, the MAC will be paying the full lease.

It only took the crew less than two months to renovate the inside, and the Medford Arts Center was born.

So, there is my experience with irony, South Jersey. Just a little story I wanted to share with you all… But, let’s talk about the MAC itself.

Again, when you think volunteerism, I know I’m usually thinking about donating money, or ladling soup out in a soup kitchen. However, I think the type of volunteerism that can be done here is a tribute to the community, itself.

The poor or misfortune will not most likely benefit from something like this, but here we get the opportunity to save something that is truly remarkable: the arts. The arts were such a prominent part of the human culture for thousands of years.

Now, we see painting being replaced (or supplemented) by Photoshop and other programs. Now, we see music being chopped, screwed and even created by computers and devices, instead of woodwinds and brass. Now, the silver screen and the boob tube are prime forms of entertainment, as opposed to the theater and the stage. Now, real journalism has been ravaged by Tweeting (thanks Adam Schefter).

These are not terrible things, by any means (except that last one). However, I, like many other people, enjoy exploring where we came from and keeping these things alive. Hell, in such a tough economy where Americans are BEGGING for jobs, can’t we create them by giving the small town artists and musicians a shot?

So what can you do to help the Medford Arts Center out? Well, the main volunteer opportunities would be to serve as a host when the showrooms are open to the public, which is every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Duties would include welcoming people, answering questions and sharing information about other events that the MAC sponsors.

You can also serve on committees, such as the Exhibits Committee, the Performing Arts Committee or the Literary Committee. There are also nine shows put on every year where about 135 artists have hung their photos.

I’ll be certainly finding out more about volunteer opportunities when I visit the next show, which is on Feb. 11 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. I’ll report back after that. For now, check out some of the other things that the MAC does!

New Jersey School of Music – Group music lessons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights

Jazz Concerts – Every other month on select Friday evenings. Next concert is on Feb. 4 (this Friday)

Classical Music Concerts – Select Sunday afternoons. Call the Center for more information (609-654-6033)

Word Play and More – Summer camp for 8-13 year olds

South Jersey Acoustical Roots Music Society – Blue grass and folk music seminars. Offer lessons and speeches by seasoned veterans, as well as jams for entertainment

Mixed Media Arts – Monthly social meetings about the arts

40 piece Symphony Orchestra – Held at St. Peter’s Church on May 1

Next up is YMCA Camp Ockinickon, which I visited on Monday. There are going to be some wonderful opportunities there, as well, so you don’t want to miss my next blog!

Stay safe, South Jersey.

Yours,

Kevin Haslam