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“Why should I volunteer at Belle Reve?” is probably a question you might
ask yourself if you were asked to donate some of your time, talent, energy,
and effort to our organization. Hopefully, some of the following reasons
will answer your questions and help you to make the decision to come in and
help out.
- AIDS is not a
discriminating illness. People who are sick with AIDS are not bad
people who have done bad things and deserve to be sick. Belle Reve’s
residents are men, women, children, African American, White, Hispanic,
heterosexual, gay, educated, not educated, from large families, from
small families, have been married, have never been married, and every
other characteristic you might think of. AIDS can happen to you, to a
family member, to a loved one, to an acquaintance. Someone you care
about deeply may need the services of Belle Reve one day. If you feel
that AIDS is not a prevalent problem or that it will never touch your
life, you are wrong. As long as people are using dirty needles and
engaging in unsafe sex practices, anyone who has sex with anyone who
has had sex with anyone who has used dirty needles or engaged in
unsafe sex practices can be vulnerable. You may know yourself, you may
know your partner, but do you know your partner’s previous partner?
Your partner’s previous partner’s previous partner? HIV can take
anywhere between six months and ten years to be detected by the carrier.
If you have little reason to suspect and you are not sick, why would
you be tested? Since this disease can happen to anyone, wouldn’t you
want to become an active part in prevention, management, and cure of
this deadly disease?
- All nonprofit organizations
are constantly struggling to pay a staff, meet the needs of their
cause, and continue thriving and functioning. If you donate your time
to Belle Reve, you can offer to answer phones, input data, address and
seal envelopes, water plants, cook a meal, mow the yard, read a story
to a child, listen to a resident who wants company, … if you have a
skill or something you don’t mind doing, we probably need it done
here. And we would certainly appreciate your help.
- Have you ever volunteered
at an organization that interests you? You will feel so good about
yourself after donating time at Belle Reve. You will have the
opportunity to meet real people who are at varying stages of health
and have varying needs. You can play monopoly or gin rummy with some
residents. You can help someone with ambulation problems make a
sandwich and pour some juice. When you realize that you are helping a
human being just like yourself, you will be happy that you were there
for that person.
Read the stories on this website of some of our residents. Ask your
friends if they know anyone who has died of AIDS. Ask yourself if you
really need to watch a rerun of Friends or a broadcast of Inside
Edition, or instead could you come to Belle Reve for an hour once a
week to help out? One or two hours a week might not be a lot of time
to devote to helping others, but if you can do so, those you help will
be eternally appreciative of your efforts.
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An
additional way to donate to Belle Reve is to visit Buy for Charity.
If you are an online shopper, this site allows you to donate a
percentage of the proceeds of your purchase to the charity of your
choice. Your online shopping will help to generate much-needed funds
for Belle Reve and you will be able to shop from stores like Barnes &
Noble, Gap, Office Max, 1-800-Flowers, J.Crew, Expedia, Priceline, and
over 350 more! All you will need to do is register at the site and
choose Belle Reve as your charity of choice.
Stay
tuned for information on Belle Reve’s new ebay site, a must for ebay
users who care about HIV/AIDS.
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