Re-org

Sorry about the news gap from November to January. I had no idea that being sad would take so much energy. But since I have enough work trying to keep current news posted, I doubt I'll go back and fill in the gap.

For the past two weeks, I've been working like a rented mule at the Burnaby Hospice Society Thrift Store. Up from my normal Tuesday shift, I was at the store every day last week except Saturday. What started out as packing up toys and Christmas accoutrements escalated into a full-scale clear-out, cleaning and re-merchandising of the housewares and kitchen sections. And at the same time, other volunteers were beautifying the clothing section.

It may not sound like it, but it was a ton of fun. It was a lot of work, but the joy I get from creating order out of chaos made up for it.

In the hopes that good information will help maintain the new orderliness, I’ve offered to produce a volunteer training manual and an as-needed volunteer newsletter. The Thrift Store’s been operating for almost a year, and lines of communication are jagged at best. It’s been a learn-as-you-go training program, and I think it’s time to record some of the learned lessons.

(As much as I’d like to believe that a couple of good communication tools will ‘fix’ everything, I understand it’s not necessarily the case. In work situations, when faced with a client who thinks an ad or brochure is a magic bullet, I note that if an education campaign was all that was needed to cure society’s ills, the entire western world would be non smoking.)

I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, stop by and check out the new order.