The emotions of My Ten Bucks

I tend to be the person that others go to when they want to talk - even when they don't know me, and I don't know them. It happens everywhere I go, especially when I tell them what I do for a living. My husband says I have a sign on my forehead that says, "Talk to me."

But now, as a "freelance writer/reporter/blogger", I am looking for these experiences so that I can pass them on to you. Sometimes it is really hard to serve as this sort of medium. I never knew how "in control" I would have to be to listen, take notes, and write, while my emotions are surging around inside me. I chose a subject so very close to my heart that it is difficult to remain objective. So I don't try. When I feel myself about to well up with tears, I have to push myself to keep listening so that I get these stories right.

Furthermore, as I continue to work through this project, I realize that the only way to produce the right piece is to let the people and their missions just shine through. I'm just a filter, a window, a duct. I have to do the best darn writing I can to make myself transparent.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that this is a heck of a project. I'm challenging my own capabilities as a writer. But this isn't the kind of challenge I intend to lose. It's the kind that makes me a better person, makes me grow, and eventually, may give me my own story to tell.

Why does my opinion count?

I really like to observe groups of people, government, or political activities. At some point, I might have realized that the deep interest I have in these topics could combine in a speciality in sociology.

Sociology
so·ci·ol·o·gy  noun /ˌsōsēˈäləjē/
1. The study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society
2. The study of social problems

In 2010, I read 52 books as part of my blog "The Ardent Reader" (http://www.theardentreader.blogspot.com/) and it was interesting how frequently I went back to the same genre in the library: social science and/or sociology. No one subject was quite as magnetic. I could nearly give up nonfiction completely, for one reason: The truth is stranger - and often more interesting - than fiction.

My Ten Bucks is a social project as much as a philanthropic one. It is a year-long study of people and organizations that actively address social issues within a very narrow demographic. Delaware is a relatively small state with a population at around 900,000 people. Of our citizens, nearly 200,000 people are Medicare/Medicaid recipients. (That means that nearly a quarter of Delaware's population is poor enough to receive government support.)

The charities profiled within this blog are filling in holes that they came across. They all, in some way, provide benefits and services that their consumers would not be able to purchase for themselves. These executive directors cultivate the resources of their communities in order to provide a necessary service or product those less fortunate. It could be artistic expression, technology, health resources, or education.

Growing up with deep roots in my Philadelphia community, I was nurtured by local charity programs. The Philadelphia Free Library and its Summer Reader's Club, Schuylkill Valley Nature Center, Galilee Baptist Church, Kendrick Recreation Center, Strawberry Mansion Art Camp, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Franklin Institute, Roxborough Area Christian Camp, the Manayunk-Roxborough Art Center (its new name), and the various churches at which I participated... these nonprofit programs enriched my life and changed the way I look at the world forever.

Grassroots nonprofits come up with creative strategies for continued social progress and personal enrichment despite personal or economical challenges. That's why I love charities so much: they believe that people have inherent worth, and they work to enhance that worth. When quality of life is in question for their neighbors and friends, true heroes emerge.

So, why does my opinion matter? For the same reason that yours does. I am part of a free society and I believe that people can overcome enormous odds and challenge social injustice if they are provided with the opportunity to do so.