American Red Cross Youth » Sheila http://redcrossyouth.org The official site of the American Red Cross Youth! Mon, 21 May 2012 05:20:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Initiative isn’t just for Measles http://redcrossyouth.org/2007/10/22/initiative-isnt-just-for-measles/ http://redcrossyouth.org/2007/10/22/initiative-isnt-just-for-measles/#comments Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:25:37 +0000 Sheila http://redcrossyouth.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/initiative-isnt-just-for-measles/ I can’t even count how many times I have heard people say that they will do something “when they have the time”. While they are sitting in their couches talking to me on the phone for over an hour about how they don’t have time to volunteer or “have too much on their plate right now” that they need to quit our high school’s Red Cross club, I am trying to find polite ways to tell them not to rest on their laurels and to take the initiative to do more than they think they can.

I believe that organization is all in the mind. If you let yourself believe that you won’t be able to find time to brainstorm a few ideas for fundraisers or to return that phone call from an important contact, you won’t. I sometime am a hypocrite in that sense. It is hard for me to take the initiative to return emails or sit down and finish that essay on my own. It always takes some outside force to push me to do it. Just like Newton said in his First Law of Motion: Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. We can all take a lesson from Sir Issac by pushing ourselves and our friends to give a little more to the cause. What do we have to lose?

We all have friends or co-workers within the American Red Cross system that we feel comfortable with in some way. I think its a good idea to have weekly phone conversations with Red Cross friends who can help us to stay on track with our commitments. I can vouch for a system similar to this that involves weekly emailing between me and my ARC friends. It is not only a good way to catch up on important ARC news, but we also give updates to eachother about what we are working on, which helps us to stay productive and active.

So why not take the initiative to propose a system such as this in any organization you are involved in? It could prove invaluable to your cause later on. I think that if you can find enough time to IM or text your friends on a daily basis, finding ten minutes or so to catch up with ARC contacts shouldn’t be a huge problem. Who knows, it could very well end up being the most productive part of your day!

Sheila Mirzai
Concord, California

]]> http://redcrossyouth.org/2007/10/22/initiative-isnt-just-for-measles/feed/ 0 The Sky’s the Limit! http://redcrossyouth.org/2007/09/11/the-skys-the-limit/ http://redcrossyouth.org/2007/09/11/the-skys-the-limit/#comments Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:49:46 +0000 Sheila http://redcrossyouth.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/the-skys-the-limit/ It is amazing, I must say, to realize that from all of the fantastic youth in the East Bay, I was selected to represent the East Bay for the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter (ARCBA) in California. I don’t think that I will ever forget that phone call, where Jason Wallace, the Youth Services Manager for the East Bay, called me to tell me that I would be receiving a Youth Services Award and that I was selected to serve for 2008 on the ARCBA Board of Directors. Nothing explains that feeling better that shock. I was in awe, and I still am, of some of the people who are my fellow members on the board. The realization hit me earlier today, when I was handed a stack of business cards that had my name and number on it, just what an organization I was representing. It is an honor and a priviledge to be the Youth Liason for this phenomenal board, and I hope that together, we can all do extraordinarily wonderful things.

I just got home a few hours ago from the ARCBA Board’s Annual Retreat and Strategic Planning Meeting held in Napa, CA. I am proud to say that my binder labeled “ARCBA Board of Directors” is bursting with papers and notes that I took over only a day and a half. I learned so much from the sessions I attended and from the presentations containing important ARCBA information. I tried to absorb so much from the bustling atmosphere of planning and acting that I could hardly sit still at our dinner on the Napa Valley Wine Train (something that I have always wanted to experience). I am very glad that I had the opportunity to attend this retreat so that I could get to know my fellow board members, who are all so incredibly nice and friendly; and to familiarize myself with how the Board operates.

I titled this blog “The sky’s the limit!” because it truly is. I never thought that over the course of two years, I’d find myself in the highest position a Red Cross Youth in my chapter can achieve. If it wasn’t for the support and information provided by my local Contra Costa County office, it never would have happened. I extend so many thanks to everyone who aided me in my pursuit of Red Cross involvement, and I hope that I can add to the prosperity and presence of the American Red Cross by being on this board.

This experience has taught me that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. Go to as many meetings, retreats, conferences, whatever, anything in which you can learn about the American Red Cross. For me, it all started with a 3-day trip to Long Beach, CA, and I was hooked. It could be like that for you! Take the initiative to find your dream and discover the courage to just be who you are. The sky’s the limit!

Sheila Mirzai, California
shmirzai@yahoo.com

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