I've had the same experience with offers to paint the classrooms in our public schools, using donated paint and volunteer parents/neighbors! Or, try and mop up the floors after evening events in a public school without a card-carrying 'supervisor/engineer' having to be on hand to provide directions-- i.e., the mops and buckets/water are in that closet/room over there. There are some ways around the latter, depending on the number of people involved at the event, but you need an insider to figure out the details of 'how-to' and make it happen. Volunteer tutors are used in a very limited way (i.e. helping elementary students with reading) in the public schools, but the potential exists for volunteer tutors/mentors in math and sciences, art, history and literature in the lower and upper grades, throughout the year in non-credit study session environments... maybe even using a community education model for after school and evening sessions, where teachers receive a minimum wage stipend for their time-- and the kids end up doing better in the regular classroom as a result. Lots of skilled and knowledgeable folks around town are more than willing to help out in many ways, if given the chance. All it takes are some budget-conscious revisions to outdated business models. I'm sure many similar examples abound throughout the public sector.
Michael Hohmann Linden Hills -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Craig Miller Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 11:41 AM To: Mpls Forum (E-mail) Subject: Re: [Mpls] Mpls. LGA cuts in Pi Press I once organized 6 landlords and hundreds of dollars to paint all the picnic tables at Creekview park or Webber park in Camden. Let me tell you, there were a lot of tables. High quality, 10 year, expensive weather resistant paint, from Lathrop at a discount. Park board said 'no'. liability issues you know. I responded that we were all middle aged conscientious adults with loads of experience. Then came 'union work, don't do it'. That ended that. I suppose we could have went ahead and did it any way. No one would have really busted us. But volunteers are by nature, law abiding. Craig Miller Rogers [EMAIL PROTECTED] snip TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
