April 14th marks the 25th Annual HandsOn Greater Phoenix Serve-a-Thon. 25 years!! And I’ve been a part of at least 22 of them … maybe more!
I don’t even remember HOW I first stumbled upon Make A Difference (which is what HandsOn Greater Phoenix was called in 1993) and their big event. I think I picked up a flyer or a postcard somewhere and something spoke to me. Enough for me to register as a volunteer and show up solo to the Phoenix Civic Center Mall one early morning. I was put on a team with a bunch of other people and we had the best time! If I remember correctly, I was assisting to run a fair for kids and their families at a local shelter.
I loved that day so much that when all the teams returned back to the Civic Center Plaza mall for a post-event celebration dirty, paint-covered, tired and HAPPY, I handed my business card to the organization’s staff and said I would be interested in participating in marketing for future events. And it began. I served on the event committee for many more years, producing graphics and logos and procuring printing donations. I participated in set up, tear down, team leader, communications team, roving teams … I fully immersed myself into Make A Difference in so many ways – all rewarding.
Years went on. Life changes. Career changes. I wasn’t as active in the organization but I’ve always made a point to at least make the annual serve-a-thon happen. We formed Charity Chicks in 2001 and so annually Team Charity Chicks has joined HandsOn Greater Phoenix to do a small project at their big event. One year we had a huge 50-person team and overtook a shelter and painted murals, did landscaping, cleaned out client rooms and more. Another year we had a much smaller team and organized inventory at a charitable thrift store. Our team has ranged from 8 – 18 people over recent years.
I’m hoping for the 25th anniversary of this event, Team Charity Chicks can join as a team of 25 or more. Can you join?
April 14. Plan to arrive by 7:30 and leave by noon. Four hours of good labor making a positive impact on our community. Easy.
RSVP on our Facebook event page or shoot me an email!
