Ever have those days when you feel totally useless? No? Oh! Okay. Um…me neither. What about when you’re super busy at work or at home, do you suddenly get really distracted by the spectre of a full-on apocalypse hurtling towards mankind? Then you feel a sad sense of paralysis and you reach for the Hobnobs/Instagram or whatever it is you need to blank out and get through the day? Well, I’ve got just what you need. I’m not talking about biscuits or social media, I’m talking about badass women who take action, pick a cause, get out there and do what they can, when they can. These women do the right thing, even when their plates are full. I’ve never felt better since talking to them about what they do, in the little time they have to spare, to actually, properly, save the world.
Jen Brown: 30 minutes – two hours per week
“I thought, screw that, I’m going to help women talk like themselves and be themselves as much as possible.” This revelation came to Jen as she watched the 2016 US presidential election debates, with Hillary Clinton choosing her words carefully while Donald Trump rambled on, saying whatever he felt like saying. So last year, Jen offered her services as a communication specialist to Get Her Elected, an initiative where people offer their skills pro bono to progressive women candidates running for US political office. She consults with candidates on their speaking style, empowering them to build the confidence and skills they need to sound like themselves. Her political work is voluntary and "overwhelmingly worth it to see a candidate be unabashedly herself, and the best version of that".
Charrise Torres: 30 minutes – three hours per week
“Maybe I will never understand why I had to go through this, but the fact that I can turn it around and be able to give back? I feel like it’s a gift I have to share.” In 2009, Charrise was a working mother, 29 years old and pregnant with her third child, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She looked for support from someone who’d walked that same path but couldn’t find it. Now, she volunteers as a peer navigator at the UC Davis Cancer Center, and has helped six women through their own journeys to recovery. She sometimes accompanies them to doctors’ visits, but mainly they talk. "It can be something superficial, like the best place to buy a wig, or it can be the really hard stuff." Does it get difficult, reliving her own battles? Occasionally, yes, but Charrise gains something too. “Sometimes, after you get well, you forget. You lose touch with what a gift life really is. These women give me that perspective.”
Morayo Faleyimu: Four - seven hours per month
“I was always the kid with the notebook, writing everything down, like Harriet the Spy.” Today, through volunteering with Girls Write Now, Morayo mentors smart and curious high school girls from underserved parts of NYC. “I love the opportunity to meet a young person one on one, and talk about something I love, which is writing.” Her current mentee, Maryclare, lives in the Bronx, meaning extra travel time for them both, but Morayo is careful not to burn herself out and plans her schedule accordingly. It’s a two-way street, Maryclare has become an important sounding board for Morayo’s own work. And the best part? “Seeing both her writing practice and her confidence grow is one of the most gratifying things ever, and knowing that I played a part in strengthening her voice gives me a special warmth of the heart.”
Megan DeTura: 30 minutes per week
“I just listen. I show up and let him start the conversation and see where he wants to take it.” That is how visits go between Megan and her assigned detainee, a Central American immigrant being held in a New Jersey detention centre as an overburdened system slowly processes his case. First Friends matches immigrants with volunteers to help alleviate their isolation. Emotionally, this can be heavy work, but recently Megan stopped by a post-release potluck thrown by former detainees and felt huge love in the room. "It was really powerful to connect and see and talk with individuals who were, at one point, detainees. When they’re not in orange jumpsuits behind plexiglass, when they’re with their children; that was a wonderful glimmer of hope.”
Zahkiya Brown: 10 hours per week
With a degree in fashion merchandising, Zahkiya found herself dressing mannequins in Saks 5th Ave, making a good living but feeling like something was missing. “My grandmother was a Black Panther, so service runs in my family.” She volunteered in an after-school programme and immediately felt a connection. “The hours between 3pm and 6pm can be a crazy time for kids, after school with nothing to do. I’m from a broken home, so I know.” She eventually took a part-time job with America SCORES NY, a nonprofit after-school programme using football and poetry to empower city students. “I don’t do this for the money, I have to do 10 other things to make a living, but this is what I choose for community, for family. It’s a joy.”
Divya Saroja: Six hours per week
“During kitten season, there were kittens in our bathroom, bedroom, everywhere.” Divya and her partner Will run Flatbush Cats, a nonprofit that conducts TNR (trap, neuter, return) programmes alongside cat rescues and adoption. In 2016, Divya moved to a neighbourhood with many sick and injured cats on the streets and immediately knew she had to act. She took a free one-hour TNR certification class from the ASPCA, and got to it. “Humans are responsible for the feral cat issue, and it’s up to us to address it.” That year alone, they had 90 cats fixed. To date, they’ve found homes for dozens of cats and feel much more connected to their own community too, as other animal lovers join them. “We tell people that love cats, take the next step in helping out. Start small and do what you can. It is incredibly rewarding to know that one small action could save a life.”
Michelle Buteau: Four hours per month
“OK so I’m not lazy, but I don’t like to protest. I can’t take all these people bumping into my tits and those signs with their corners poking me in the face. Nope, I’d rather raise some money and donate it.” So she does, co-hosting a monthly comedy show called ‘Adulting’ and sending the profits to a variety of causes, most recently the hurricane stricken island of Dominica. Her Jamaican mother and Haitian father were always quick to remind her of her privilege, and also imparted an idea of family that is expansive and compassionate. “My family is made of cousins and uncles that aren’t even related, but we all take each other in.” So, what’s in it for her? “I get karma chips! It’s all about karma and putting something good into the world for people you haven’t met yet.”
Gracelyn Woods: One day a month
An only child and a natural introvert, Gracelyn goes out of her way to create meaningful and genuine connections with others. She has understood the power of community ever since she was a child and strangers reached out to offer help to her and her mother during their stint in extended housing. “It makes you more mindful of what people need out there.” In a day off work during the hot city summer, she gets her friends together to make up care packages for homeless people, packing bottled water, wet wipes, granola bars, bandanas and encouraging notes in bags, and passing them out. Gracelyn says: “Giving money to causes is awesome, but it’s important too that we give respect to people, by showing up for them in a real way.”
Katie Clark: Three weeks a year
In 2016 over 150,000 migrants arrived in Greece; many were Syrians fleeing a terrible civil war. As anti-refugee rhetoric got louder in the US, Katie did not want to be "that little white girl who thinks she can save the world” but knew she needed to do something. On arrival in Athens, she was met with chaos and started work immediately, connecting refugees with resources. She used her background in early childhood education to help families with young children, and spent time sorting clothing donations in a charity warehouse. Her experience helped her understand the needs of displaced people and make improvements in her school back in the US. “I did my little part, I don’t know if I made any impact, but I bore witness to something that needs to be witnessed and needs to be talked about.”
Monica Youssef: Two hours a week
Most of Monica’s work day is taken up with mergers and acquisitions, but she occasionally glances at a note on her desk. I’m so lucky I got such a caring, helpful, kind attorney like you, I’m just blessed. It’s not from a corporate client. Monica’s firm, Sheppard Mullin, encourages up to 100 pro bono hours a year, which she uses to support clients of the International Refugee Assistance Project: IRAP. The note is from an Iraqi man she helped bring safely to a new life in Dallas, following death threats because of his work translating for US troops. Monica insists she doesn’t do a lot, but understands its significance. “It’s not much, sending an email, summarising an executive order, but it makes them know that someone is on their side. Someone wants them here, and recognises the danger they are in. Someone knows they’re going to add value to this country.”
Orla Tinsley: Five minutes, once off
“I can breathe now. I couldn’t breathe before. I was dying, very quickly. First it was slow, but then I got very sick very quickly. But because of my donor, I’m here.” Last December, after a lifetime of living with cystic fibrosis and six close calls with lungs that ultimately were not a match, Orla received a double lung transplant. It may not be a nice thing to think about, but it’s super fast to register for organ donation, and you won’t need to think about it if and when it actually happens. “In terms of being able to help one another, this doesn’t cost us anything, but it can enrich someone else beyond anything else in the world.”
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