One month. 30 days.
I leave in only one month. Holy....holy.
I'm VERY excited (still!), but now I've gone into uber-planning mode. Lists. Piles. Shopping. Organizing. Checking and re-checking.
[pause]
Sorry about that, I had to add 'schedule visit to travel doctor for malarone rx' to the Haiti-specific to do list. Yes, I've got a Haiti-specific to do list. Must stop.
In typical "me" fashion, I'm making the most of this when I return. I've agreed to write a short piece for Today in PT and will be doing a presentation on campus for our lunch enrichment series. This way, I will remember to update here regularly, take other good notes (I do plan on updating with more stuff when I get back), and take a lot of photos.
Next week I'll be in Boston at Annual Conference, and I'm hoping to test out updating with my phone. Gotta get used to 'short and sweet' posts. Must try this stuff out. And also post some more photos to the flickr feed, too.
Oh yeah, and thanks Blogger for the new templates! What y'all think of this one?
I'm still looking for sponsors! Use the PayPal link to the right, or donate directly Advantage Haiti, the group I'm volunteering with at their website: http://www.advantagehaiti.com/.
Showing posts with label APTA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label APTA. Show all posts
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Money well spent
Props to Tom & Michelle who are getting me a newer, functional, lightweight head lamp! Thanks! Props to Amanda, who's currently with a group from Kaiser in New Orleans helping to clean up houses, build playgrounds and baseball diamonds, and set up clinics. It's been great to read your emails, and you're inspiring me to stay motivated for my trip to Haiti! Lastly, I'm so excited that SMU DPT grads Kathy & Bryan will be going to Haiti in September to volunteer with AdvantageHaiti! Hopefully I can give you some good, practical advice when I get back!
I had an interesting conversation the other day about my trip. I had just met these folks (a chiropractor and a massage therapist), and they were both genuinely excited that I was going to Haiti, but both of them didn't even know if anyone in their professions were on the ground there nor did they have any idea who they would contact to see if they could volunteer. Now, I'm going to be completely upfront...I'm a big supporter and believer in professional organizations. I'm a proud member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and I'm actively involved. And this trip is one tiny example of why.
I found AdvantageHaiti through the APTA. That's right. Only a few days after the earthquake, the APTA already had a page up with groups supported by or run by members who were working to provide physical therapy. In January, when the earthquake happened, I wasn't able to get out of work and other professional obligations, and thought it was nice of them to serve as a clearinghouse of information for people who could volunteer. Once I realized my summer load would allow me to volunteer, I returned to that same information page on the APTA's website, and started my search for a program to volunteer with, and was happy to see the page had been periodically updated. Right there, my association dues at work!
I wonder how many other needed volunteers have had trouble accessing the information they need to make an informed decision about how and when and with whom to volunteer because they aren't connected with their professional association, didn't think to use their professional association, or their associations don't provide this type of member service? It also made me both proud and glad to be a member of my own professional association. Well done, APTA.
I had an interesting conversation the other day about my trip. I had just met these folks (a chiropractor and a massage therapist), and they were both genuinely excited that I was going to Haiti, but both of them didn't even know if anyone in their professions were on the ground there nor did they have any idea who they would contact to see if they could volunteer. Now, I'm going to be completely upfront...I'm a big supporter and believer in professional organizations. I'm a proud member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and I'm actively involved. And this trip is one tiny example of why.
I found AdvantageHaiti through the APTA. That's right. Only a few days after the earthquake, the APTA already had a page up with groups supported by or run by members who were working to provide physical therapy. In January, when the earthquake happened, I wasn't able to get out of work and other professional obligations, and thought it was nice of them to serve as a clearinghouse of information for people who could volunteer. Once I realized my summer load would allow me to volunteer, I returned to that same information page on the APTA's website, and started my search for a program to volunteer with, and was happy to see the page had been periodically updated. Right there, my association dues at work!
I wonder how many other needed volunteers have had trouble accessing the information they need to make an informed decision about how and when and with whom to volunteer because they aren't connected with their professional association, didn't think to use their professional association, or their associations don't provide this type of member service? It also made me both proud and glad to be a member of my own professional association. Well done, APTA.