One More Reason to Love Them...

          So, this is something I never really got to blogging about, but it's one of the reasons I believe groups like Humboldt Roller Derby and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence can be so effective. The other day we did a community needs assessment in class, and we talked about things like assets in the community and motivation for change. But what really got me thinking was how many of us were able to identify assets that were not directly in support of our change, and perhaps even acted as an obstacle, but that could be harnessed to our advantage. I mean, it's not exactly a great thing that a lot of people don't care about helping the homeless because they don't want to "waste" money on them, but that can be harnessed to one's benefit, for instance when writing a grant for a program that shows how spending money to prevent homelessness can cost far less, in the end, then paying for the consequences of homelessness, (I personally believe this is a large part of why California received such an amazing amount of HPRP funds for homelessness prevention).
          I believe this is something that the Sisters and HRD both take advantage of. I mean, I really do believe many people in the community choose to support these groups because of the good work they do, and in fact there must be these sorts of people around or these groups never would've made it off the ground, but what I also know is that many people love and attend derby events without even knowing that local agencies are benefiting from the proceeds, and the same goes for many of the Sister events. These groups are raising money by getting people to attend events they probably would've gone to anyway, and they are taking advantage, not just of the groups of people interested in giving to a good cause, but also the large amounts of students with some financial aid money to spend on having a good time, amongst others. I think this is not only effective, but also offers people an opportunity to experience the Joy and Fun involved in helping others, and to remember that it doesn't have to be some dour, problem-focused, guilt-ridden event, and that, in the end, encourages people to give all the more.