Another longing that I have in city-life--or life anywhere--is volunteer opportunity. In cities, it becomes so easy to focus on fending for yourself and to take on the hyper-individualistic mindset...not healthy for the long-term.
About a year ago I found the perfect solution! I began volunteering with Sierra Club Inner City Outings (ICO), going on adventures with an international high school of students in the Bronx. ICO is a volunteer and donation-based community outreach program in over fifty cities country-wide. It provides inner city youth and adults the opportunity to explore, enjoy and protect the natural world through organized outings to local nature reserves, mountains, rivers and places for outdoor adventure. Through fun team-building adventures, it builds interpersonal skills and teaches how to protect the natural environment.
Last week, for example, I went white water rafting! I show up outside of my particular group's high school, and from there, the other volunteers and I hop on a bus with twenty or so youth to leave for a day of adventure. The students love the opportunity most of them would not usually have, and the volunteers, like myself, love both the adventures and the interaction with the quirky inner city kids!
I wrote the trip report for our last adventure...take a look if you are interested to read about this and other adventures of the NYC ICO group!
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