Saturday, January 05, 2013

Resolve 2013: Who, Me?


"Continuing the Resolve tour..."

I'll never forget my ride from a meeting to lunch with this wonderful, funny lady. We found we were kindred spirits in more than just the writing world. She grew up on a farm just like me and had the same rural values. 
Please welcome:

Cathryn Cade

Volunteering is good. We should all do it. Groan ….


When I first saw Paty’s request for a blog on this topic I nearly panicked. I mean, I’m not serving as an usher on Sunday, or shelving books at the public library or any of the other acts of kindness I could be doing these days. Were I a better person.

Just like every parent, I’ve put in countless hours of volunteer work in my time. Teaching vacation Bible school, and helping with other church activities. Cub Scout den leader, even one memorable year as the Pack Leader (I was the one who didn’t duck). Chairman of the all-city Halloween Safe Kids Carnival. Weekend and evening events for the elementary schools my kids went to, and the one where I taught.
But, since I quit teaching to write full time I’ve hunkered down and pulled in the latch-string after myself.
Online is where I volunteer these days. I judge writing contests, critique manuscripts when asked, write a column for my favorite review site, gratis. I moderate a national loop. I Tweet for romance writing colleagues, and promote their work whenever I can.  When I go to a conference, I find some task to help with. When I read a good book or a helpful blog post, I recommend it.

Could I be doing more for my communities, both online and at home? Yup. So thanks to Paty for the friendly nudge. No matter what stage of life, there are tasks to be done, and I’m the woman for many of those jobs.  We all are.

Because now that I think about it, there is such a glow of pride and pleasure to be had from doing for others, why aren’t I availing myself of that more often? And we meet cool people, too.

How about you, reader? What’s your favorite volunteer place or task? Leave a comment!

Cathryn Cade
... red hot romance!
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I'm also including a list of all 9 bloggers and their resolution:

THE RESOLUTION TOUR - January 1 - 9, 2013



Maggie Jaimeson - Take a Vacation
Jessa Slade - Get Organized
Paty Jager - Volunteerism
Linda Mercury - Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life
Jenna Bayley-Burke - Eat Healthier
Cassiel Knight - No More Procrastination
Cathryn Cade - Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions
Su Lute - Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss
Jamie Brazil - Shrink My Closet 

The best way to support authors you like is to friend and fan them on social media sites. If you enjoy the posts from this tour please show your appreciation by liking or becoming a friend or fan. Thank you for stopping in and visiting.  

4 comments:

jamie said...

Anything where I can gather people together. I'm great at organizing parties. Great post, Cathryn.

Anonymous said...

Cathryn, I actually love all the things you mentioned that you already do for writers. I forget that I am volunteering my time when I do those things. Instead I count them as part of the responsibility of being a writer. But, we should all count that time and give some slack. Not to say we can't do more. We can always do more in our community.

Thanks for this!

Jessie said...

I think everyone wishes they had more time to volunteer. I try to give back to the Romance Genre by volunteering as a reviewer for Night Owl Romance.

Jessa Slade said...

I have to admit, I usually volunteer where the time commitment is flexible so I can be sure to deliver the goods.