Martin Luther King Jr Day

Good morning. My name is Marty Posch. I am in community relations at IUPUI and the co founder of an organization called Giving Sum (http://www.givingsum.org/). I have always been skeptical of blogs because I think it is somewhat arrogant to think that people actually care what you have to say, but I didn't see many blogs talking about positive change and positive ways that people are impacting not only Indianapolis, but the world. I thought the world needed a little shot in the arm as far as not focusing on the negative. There are alot of great people doing amazing things out there. This will tell their story, as well as give you ways that you yourself can become engaged. I am very passionate about the community and about getting people involved. This will be a vehicle to accomplish that. I also will be volunteering with different non profit organizations around Indianapolis and reporting back on my experiences.

Since it is Martin Luther King day and Dr. King was incredibly passionate about community service, I will focus on that for my first blog. Community service is an aspect of life in Indianapolis that truly makes it different than other large cities. The sense of responsibility to help in this community continually astounds me. That being said, we can always do more. Volunteering and philanthropy need to be a part of your life. It is fun, it is engaging, and it is incredibly rewarding and from a selfish level it does make you feel great! Whether it is planting trees with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (http://www.kibi.org/) , putting together meals at Second Helpings (http://www.secondhelpings.org/) or serving lunch or dinner to the homeless at Wheeler Mission (http://www.wmm.org/). These are small ways that you can make a difference.

For my 38th birthday, which is coming up on the 24th, I have a group of about 30 people that are going to spend the morning volunteering with me at Gleaners Food Bank. Some of these people are my friends that i KNEW would be in and be a part of volunteering, others are friends that I know this will be their first experience. I am excited that they are going to be a part of the day, but also that they will get to experience something fun and rewarding.

Martin Luther King Jr said "everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." So take what MLK says and what he believed in, and give some of your time to those organizations that can use it. And besides the giving of your time, grab someone that you know that hasn't experienced the joy of volunteering for something meaningful and GIVE them that experience. It is one thing to have the passion yourself, but to engage others is the real blessing.

I look forward to checking in and spotlighting great organizations in Indianapolis , the country , and the world. If through this blog i expose one person to a new organization, or get one new person to volunteer, my job is complete.

To find local volunteer opportunities go to

http://www.volunteermatch.org/
http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwci/volunteer/