"Please" Do "NOT" Throw the Toy Ball's Inside!!!

This summer I am volunteering 10 hours a week at a organization called the Ballard Center, which has a sister organization just down the road from my house called Penn House (I know... but it's on Pennsylvania Street).

Don't get me wrong, I am excited to be able to volunteer my time this summer.

And let me tell you, a 4-block walking commute is MUCH preferable to a 40-minute driving commute. The walk to and from Penn House alone would be worth spending time there.

But there are going to be some interesting challenges involved in volunteering.

I am working on digging up the background and history of Penn House, and it is a great example of the frustrations of organizational politics. Until 2003, Penn House and the Ballard Center were separate entities in East Lawrence that provided various community services, such as clothing and food pantries. Each of them had certain ways of doing things, and these methods (or lack thereof) have been ingrained and carried out over the decades, with varying levels of efficiency and effectiveness. The challenges of combining of the two centers, in addition to some recent turnovers in staffing, has led to some, ahem, substantial tensions.

I have to admit, I look around Penn House and see a lot of things I would run differently if I were in charge, and, of course, if there was nothing and no one in my way to changing them. The first thing I noticed were the signs--the sign duplicated on each of the doors in all capital letters announcing

PLEASE
CLOSE


THE DOOR
THE


AIR IS ON

...As well as a rampant misuse of apostrophes and "Quotation Marks" for "emphasis." Ughhhhh..... It hurts me.

But the signs are not my job, and I can only imagine whose toes would be stepped upon if they were replaced.

In fact, I think my main job description at this point is to try to find ways to be helpful without stepping on toes too much. After all, what do I know about the challenges and theories behind running this kind of an organization? I will just do my best to step lightly and keep my eyes and ears open for a while.