I've been to a few practice thus far, following a trip to the last home game of the season with some pals from the social work program, and these girls are Amazing. Girls do not make money doing roller derby, in fact they pay dues to rent the practice space and cover minimal bout insurance, and they are on the way to becoming a registered non-profit in the next year or so. Until then, they continue to benefit various organizations in the community with each home game and they work to keep their events family friendly, including a budding Saplings junior league for young girls to feel empowered and learn teamwork while studying basic derby skills.
I have also been increasingly involved as a volunteer at events for the Eureka chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (our chapter is the Abbey of the Big Red Wood). This is a chapter of a San-Francisco based non-profit group which plans and runs fundraisers to benefit local agencies, including The Emma Center this past October and Arcata House at an upcoming event.
I believe both of these groups are a great example of what our text, Community Practice, would call "Individual Leadership Assets", and ones that led to the building of even greater assets. As the text states, "Sparkplug individuals, "even idiosyncratic ones," are more likely than plans or ideologies to yield change". Both HRD and the Eureka Sisters began with a handful of dedicated individuals, who attracted more of the same, dedicated to a goal that, to others, would have likely seemed impossible, starting from the ground up organizations that manage to constantly give while still growing stronger. To me it is the very essence of synergy, that these groups can manage to do so much for other community agencies and still stay afloat, and I can't wait to continue to involve myself as much as possible with these amazing groups.
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