Hello all, welcome to my thoughts about (and, in the months to come, from) Cape Town. I've set up this blog both as a way to update you all on my upcoming volunteer assignment in South Africa through Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), and as a way for me to reflect on this experience and on my career transition. My departure for Cape Town is fast approaching -- today is officially one month from my start date and orientation -- so I thought it might be a fitting time to get the first posting up. And the timing was made more appropriate by the fact that I received details about my volunteer placement earlier today . . . but more on that in a little bit.
As many of you know, my decision to leave the practice of law has been a long time in the making. In 2005, I took myself off partner track and went part time. Several years later, I took sabbatical and enrolled in the Executive Master of Public Administration program at Baruch College in New York City. Thankfully, I had built up goodwill at the office and worked for a firm that allowed me to do all these things. But there comes a time . . . and the firm and I have worked out an ending date; as of Sept. 3, 2010, I will finally write the last few lines of the chapter in my life that were dominated by the legal profession.
What comes next is this eight-week volunteer assignment through CCS in Cape Town, South Africa. For those of you who don't know anything about CCS, the organization operates volunteer programs in 12 countries around the world (Ghana, Morocco, South Africa and Tanzania in Africa, China, India and Thailand in Asia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Peru in Latin America, and Russia in Europe). These programs all operate in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, and have shared humanity, respect and integrity as core values. Since its founding in 1995, over 25,000 volunteers have taken part in their programs and have had a chance to work alongside local residents, to share perspectives and to hopefully to foster some cultural understanding.
My own CCS experience will begin on Sept. 11, 2010 and will run through Nov. 6, 2010. Since CCS works with local community organizations to determine what their needs are and where volunteers can best be placed, CCS typically doesn't have final volunteer placement details available until about a week before a volunteer's start date. So, I was more than a little surprised when I got a call from CCS on Monday to talk about details of a possible placement. That placement was confirmed today, and I know that I will be volunteering with the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town (Scalabrini) and will likely be placed on Scalabrini's Employment Help Desk. In the posts from Cape Town, I'll provide more details on the volunteer placement itself.
Scalabrini works to alleviate poverty in the Western Cape by promoting development in the region and by offering assistance to refugees and their children. The center provides a welcome program for newly-arrived refugees, distributes food, clothing and blankets to refugees every other month, gives English classes daily, and assists with finding housing and employment and obtaining legal advice. Check out Scalabrini's website for more information on their work.
I'm both honored and humbled by the placement, just as I'm excited by, and thankful for, this opportunity. And, oddly enough, I'm looking forward to challenging myself and to testing those preconceived notions that I've convinced myself I don't have any of. In many ways, I feel as if I'm fortunate, lucky or blessed beyond words. But, when I get to South Africa, I'll try to pull my thoughts together once a week or so to post an update here. I hope to get at least one more posting up before I go, but the next month is going to fly by before I know it.
Finally, a huge "thank you" to everyone who made a donation to CCS as a program sponsor. In total, I received sponsorship for just short of $3,000 worth of the program costs associated with my placement. As honored and as humbled as I am by the volunteer placement, I am even more honored and humbled by the generosity my sponsors have shown. Without your sponsorship, I'm not sure that I would have been able to volunteer for the full eight weeks, so thank you! Thank you!! THANK YOU!!!
Until the next posting, all the best.
Troy
As many of you know, my decision to leave the practice of law has been a long time in the making. In 2005, I took myself off partner track and went part time. Several years later, I took sabbatical and enrolled in the Executive Master of Public Administration program at Baruch College in New York City. Thankfully, I had built up goodwill at the office and worked for a firm that allowed me to do all these things. But there comes a time . . . and the firm and I have worked out an ending date; as of Sept. 3, 2010, I will finally write the last few lines of the chapter in my life that were dominated by the legal profession.
What comes next is this eight-week volunteer assignment through CCS in Cape Town, South Africa. For those of you who don't know anything about CCS, the organization operates volunteer programs in 12 countries around the world (Ghana, Morocco, South Africa and Tanzania in Africa, China, India and Thailand in Asia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Peru in Latin America, and Russia in Europe). These programs all operate in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, and have shared humanity, respect and integrity as core values. Since its founding in 1995, over 25,000 volunteers have taken part in their programs and have had a chance to work alongside local residents, to share perspectives and to hopefully to foster some cultural understanding.
My own CCS experience will begin on Sept. 11, 2010 and will run through Nov. 6, 2010. Since CCS works with local community organizations to determine what their needs are and where volunteers can best be placed, CCS typically doesn't have final volunteer placement details available until about a week before a volunteer's start date. So, I was more than a little surprised when I got a call from CCS on Monday to talk about details of a possible placement. That placement was confirmed today, and I know that I will be volunteering with the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town (Scalabrini) and will likely be placed on Scalabrini's Employment Help Desk. In the posts from Cape Town, I'll provide more details on the volunteer placement itself.
Scalabrini works to alleviate poverty in the Western Cape by promoting development in the region and by offering assistance to refugees and their children. The center provides a welcome program for newly-arrived refugees, distributes food, clothing and blankets to refugees every other month, gives English classes daily, and assists with finding housing and employment and obtaining legal advice. Check out Scalabrini's website for more information on their work.
I'm both honored and humbled by the placement, just as I'm excited by, and thankful for, this opportunity. And, oddly enough, I'm looking forward to challenging myself and to testing those preconceived notions that I've convinced myself I don't have any of. In many ways, I feel as if I'm fortunate, lucky or blessed beyond words. But, when I get to South Africa, I'll try to pull my thoughts together once a week or so to post an update here. I hope to get at least one more posting up before I go, but the next month is going to fly by before I know it.
Finally, a huge "thank you" to everyone who made a donation to CCS as a program sponsor. In total, I received sponsorship for just short of $3,000 worth of the program costs associated with my placement. As honored and as humbled as I am by the volunteer placement, I am even more honored and humbled by the generosity my sponsors have shown. Without your sponsorship, I'm not sure that I would have been able to volunteer for the full eight weeks, so thank you! Thank you!! THANK YOU!!!
Until the next posting, all the best.
Troy
