Casa
Cares Children’s Home (1962-1975) and now Casa Cares, guesthouse and
meeting center, would be unimaginable without volunteers. For
a few days or many months, from many corners of the world, the volunteers
have provided the workforce and the enthusiastic energy that has permitted
the work to go on.
The volunteers’ contributions come in many forms: guests who pitch in while here for a few days, individuals and groups for specific work camps, and persons who integrate into the life and rhythms of Casa Cares for months. Of course things do not always go smoothly; there are too many variables. Some young people are away from home a long period for the first time and are challenged here by their first work experience. Not everyone is used to group living. For some the hectic pace of the guest arrivals and departures is tiring, while others have to learn to live with the quiet of the winter months. The work is often tedious and can be physically demanding.
However, a good friend has often said that he is envious of us, just sitting here with all the interesting world passing through our doors. Fortunately the life here does offer its rewards for volunteers, as well as for those of us who are here for many years: Tuscany at our doorstep, learning Italian, new friends among the guests and colleagues, environmental-friendly lifestyle, great food, beautiful countryside
In 2008 the volunteers again washed tens of thousands of dishes, made up thousands of beds, helped prepare meals, sweated on the land, smiled at the guests, pitched in with the repairs, and much more. Two work camps of note were the young adults from a training program in Berlin and the ex-USSR Germans from Bavaria. Among other things, the former worked to make our park fence secure for small children and the latter were involved with plastering the exterior of the chapel and the cleaning of our cypress woods. These are important jobs that would not have gotten done without them.
So we recognize our volunteers this month and say “Thanks.”
A curious note: we have a “weed” crawling through our summer garden that we just learned was cited as one of ten important foods for health (at least according to Dr. Bowden in New York). Portulaca can enhance the taste and the quality of a salad with its high content of an antioxidant that can help prevent tumors. One person’s weed is another person’s treasure!
The volunteers’ contributions come in many forms: guests who pitch in while here for a few days, individuals and groups for specific work camps, and persons who integrate into the life and rhythms of Casa Cares for months. Of course things do not always go smoothly; there are too many variables. Some young people are away from home a long period for the first time and are challenged here by their first work experience. Not everyone is used to group living. For some the hectic pace of the guest arrivals and departures is tiring, while others have to learn to live with the quiet of the winter months. The work is often tedious and can be physically demanding.
However, a good friend has often said that he is envious of us, just sitting here with all the interesting world passing through our doors. Fortunately the life here does offer its rewards for volunteers, as well as for those of us who are here for many years: Tuscany at our doorstep, learning Italian, new friends among the guests and colleagues, environmental-friendly lifestyle, great food, beautiful countryside
In 2008 the volunteers again washed tens of thousands of dishes, made up thousands of beds, helped prepare meals, sweated on the land, smiled at the guests, pitched in with the repairs, and much more. Two work camps of note were the young adults from a training program in Berlin and the ex-USSR Germans from Bavaria. Among other things, the former worked to make our park fence secure for small children and the latter were involved with plastering the exterior of the chapel and the cleaning of our cypress woods. These are important jobs that would not have gotten done without them.
So we recognize our volunteers this month and say “Thanks.”
A curious note: we have a “weed” crawling through our summer garden that we just learned was cited as one of ten important foods for health (at least according to Dr. Bowden in New York). Portulaca can enhance the taste and the quality of a salad with its high content of an antioxidant that can help prevent tumors. One person’s weed is another person’s treasure!
What a wonderful place !
Posted by: Tietie007 | October 29, 2008 at 11:38 AM