9/11 - 8 years later...

Unless you're fortunate enough to be at the show at Madison Square Garden in NYC tonight, you are like me and most of the hip hop and cable-having world...we're tuned into the Jay-Z LIVE concert on Fuse right now.

The show is going down!  Hov is doing his thing.  John Mayer was rippin' the guitar solos, Pharrell is doing his collabo thing, Santigold represented...all is well for hip hop, Jigga and Roc Nation.  I think people are forgetting what this is all about:  100% of the proceeds from ticket sales and concert merchandise will go directly to the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund.

Community service is an important aspect of maintaining and sustaining our communities.  I have been a volunteer since I was young.  My parents instilled in me the importance of helping the less fortunate, to be grateful for my middle-class life, to be aware of what is going on in the world around me...and most importantly to value my time and spend it wisely.  From clothing & toy drives, to Girl Scouts, to tutoring kids in Math after-school at the Boys and Girls Club, to helping flood victims complete FEMA applications, to a runaway teen hotline, to a youth homeless shelter in Germantown, to the Northern Home for Children in Manayunk...community service gives me awesome personal satisfaction.

I have met so many like-minded people and beautiful souls through my years involved in various community service programs.  The experiences are priceless, the encounters numerous, the relationships irreplaceable.

Currently I am registered with Greater Philadelphia Cares.  This organization is involved in various programs all over Philadelphia - youth, inmate, elderly, immigration, athletics, arts & crats, etc.  Once registered they will send you a newsletter and email updates for upcoming events.  You contact the assigned project leader for the project you are interested in participating in, you show up, there - you volunteered.  It's THAT easy.  And so worth it.

Tayyib Smith, one of the founders of two.one.five magazine and the COO/founder of Little Giant Media Inc., contacted me a few weeks ago about a project he was involved with and interested in.  It's a great cause.  I wanted to use my small voice and my blogging abilities to spread the word and share with you all what is going down and how you can help out and be a part of it. 

The project is called United We Serve.



Per Tayyib, here is the plan:

The primary initiative of United We Serve is to “expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own “do-it-yourself” projects”. In order to contribute to this initiative, video vignettes highlighting individuals and organizations that are making positive impacts in the Philadelphia region will be composed and distributed to various viral media outlets. Every day starting on September 1st and ending on the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance, an individual or organization will be highlighted. Each subject will be asked a series of three over-arching questions: 1) Why do you volunteer? 2) How has service brought about change in your life and the community? 3) How can someone get involved in your service project? This series will bring to light those that are agents of change in the Philadelphia area and inspire others to do the same in the region and throughout the country.

tayyib@215mag.com

Please contact Tayyib above if you have anything to contribute - if not your time, then your ideas, your exposure, your influence on others to expose this initiative and generate interest in community service and giving back to the communities we live in.

We elected a community organizer and very involved community servant in Barack Obama this year, folks.  It's time for everyone to do their part and get involved.  Don't talk about it, be about it.  You might be surprised at who you meet, what you know, what you learn and where you end up.