[bksvol-discuss] Re: Volunteering for Bookshare
- From: "Pavi Mehta" <pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:49:00 -0700
To all of you who wrote in to this thread --
Just wanted to say Thank You for sharing your personal stories, insights and
reflections on "Why You Volunteer".
It afforded an inspiring glimpse into what makes you each come alive to the
work you do with Bookshare. As time goes by I hope to be able to better support
you in that work -- and it helps a great deal to have the context of your
diverse and engaging Volunteer Tales to learn from! In the future I look
forward to creating a way of compiling and sharing such stories with new and
prospective volunteers through the new site and perhaps a Volunteer Newsletter.
Reading your notes made me think of a favorite quote of mine by Howard Thurman,
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
With appreciation for the "aliveness" you bring to this community and beyond!
All good things,
Pavi
Pavi Mehta
Volunteer Coordinator, Bookshare
Benetech
480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA
Phone: +1 650 644-3459
pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.benetech.org
The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity
A Nonprofit Organization
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Cindy
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 12:19 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Volunteering for Bookshare
Bob,
I enjoy your sense of humor--always, and here in your post. I laughed three
times.
Cindy
--- On Sat, 8/9/08, Bob <rwiley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: Bob <rwiley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Volunteering for Bookshare
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Saturday, August 9, 2008, 11:18 AM
> Well said Lori.
>
> I hope this thread will be a place for folks to tell their
> volunteering story.
>
> I joined bookshare about a year and a half ago. Before that
> I was an avid anti bookshare spokes person. I objected to
> the fact that bookshare charged for their services, and also
> to the fact that it's library wasn't totally
> available to international readers. But I got desperate for
> something to read, plus a friend of mine told me I
> didn't know what I was talking about since I had never
> been a bookshare member. So, I thought, I'll try it for
> a year then go back to criticizing it with my own
> experiences to rely on. Unfortunately, I love to read and
> got hooked on the books. So, about three months after I
> joined I decided to look into volunteering to help defray
> the annual cost.
>
> I don't scan because of arthritis in my hands, but part
> of my last job before I retired was editing documents. I
> found I enjoyed the detail involved in editing, and,
> validating is just editing by another name.
>
> Anyway, since I started volunteering, I've come to love
> it. I would validate even if we didn't get credits for
> it. Don't get any big ideas bookshare staff!
>
> I now validate mainly books that I like to read, rather
> than just taking on all comers. I take pride in doing a
> thorough job, and have only had one book rejected. It was my
> first book, and being inexperienced, I messed up the
> pagination something terrible. Thanks Carry for rejecting
> that long forgotten book. I'd hate to think it was
> lingering on the site with my mistakes as part of it.
>
> Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
>
> Oh yes, lest I forget, I am now a convert to bookshare and
> apologize for all my unwarranted criticisms.
>
> Bob
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lori Castner
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 12:48 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Volunteering for Bookshare
>
>
> Hi, Folks,
>
> Recent discussions on this list have caused me to think a
> lot about why I volunteer for Bookshare.
>
> However, without considering these discussions, i.e.,
> whether volunteering will continue change or be the same in
> the future, I want to share my own experience here for those
> who might be interested.
>
> A year and a half ago, I purchased my husband Mike a
> membership to Bookshare because he was becoming bored with
> books from NLS. Although we have a friend who validates
> books for Bookshare, that activity seemed very abstract to
> me, and I simply wanted to get Mike a source of new books.
> He had been looking for a volunteer activity in the
> community with little success, so he began validating books
> and absolutely loved the activity.
>
> Because of his enthusiasm, I purchased a bookshare
> membership to get books to read, but primarily to validate
> books. And I enjoyed validating almost as much as he did.
>
> For us, bookshare is not so much a place to get reading
> material--although I have read a fair number of books and
> have many as yet unread on my computer and bookport and Mike
> has read very few books, but rather a way to give back, a
> way to give to others. Sure, we can still scan books just
> for us to read, but that process now seems incomplete,
> because Bookshare has provided a way for us to share those
> books with others who would not find them through other
> sources. Also, validating books so that they can become part
> of a larger collection and be available for others to read
> is unexpressibly rewarding.
>
> I used to knit items for three different charitable
> organizations, but since developing arthritis in my thumbs I
> can no longer contribute very much in that way. I also
> write poetry, but very few benefit from my poems at this
> time. If we had not discovered the joy of volunteering for
> Bookshare, Mike might still be looking for a gratifying
> volunteer activity, which for a blind person can be as
> difficult as finding a fulfilling job. And, I might be
> wondering how to give back to the world.
>
> Sure, without volunteering for bookshare, we would have
> time to read more books, but that is only partially
> rewarding and fulfilling. We might spend more time with
> friends, but many of them work days and have most evenings
> filled with family, errands, etc. But without the
> fulfillment of giving back to others through volunteering
> for Bookshare, our lives would be less rich, less fulfilled,
> and less meaningful.
>
> I speak only for myself although I am sure I am sharing a
> common feeling. Thanks! Bookshare!
>
> Cat Lover Lori
> P.S. and I would have more time to play with and pamper
> our cat who now sits in our den and watches us contribute to
> the world!
>
>
>
>
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