Summer Activistivities
Get Off Your Ass and Into the Community!

If your situation this summer is anything like mine, then you probably weren’t awarded financial aid for summer term and at the same time are facing the very likely specter of unemployment. Lucky us. Should you be in such a situation, I present to you an alternative to parking yourself in front of the Xbox and the bong—getting involved with your community, of course! There’s no better way to spend your summer than making a difference in the lives of others, except for becoming a world-conquering supervillain. Since that’s not an option for most of us, here’s a few ways to spend your summer doing something that will leave your mark on the world.

There are any number of political volunteering activities you can take part in this summer. For instance, the Pacific Green Party is always looking for volunteers to knock on doors and talk about all things green with members of the community. Sure, it’s volunteer work, which means you don’t get paid, but volunteering with the Pacific Green Party allows you to network with other likeminded individuals who forget to bathe on a regular basis. What could be better? If working for a more mainstream political party is your calling, then the same holds true for either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Go to their respective Oregon websites and volunteer. It’s fun and easy to do.

If you’re sick of politics, there are PLENTY of non-political activist things you could do this summer. Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism (SOLV) is ALWAYS looking for volunteers. Go to the SOLV website and register as a volunteer. You could organize your own SOLV-backed cleanup of a park, beach or wilderness area. With summer come a lot of tourists who just love to make a mess of things. SOLV needs all the help it can get to clean up after all the annoying families and their disgusting children. If the environment is your passion, you can do no better this summer than to volunteer with SOLV. Go to www.solv.org to find out more.
With the economy the way it is right now, there are more people living on the streets now than ever before. If the plight of the homeless is your passion, volunteer with the Portland Rescue Mission, a religiously-based outreach program that feeds the homeless. It’s not only at Thanksgiving and Christmas that the homeless need food, so go to www.portlandrescuemission.org and register to volunteer. If helping families that haven’t lost their homes yet is more interesting to you, try volunteering with the Oregon Food Bank, which provides food to low-income families. There’s a food bank near you. To find one, go to www.oregonfoodbank.org, where you can also find information on becoming a volunteer.