Angela - Meetup Organizer of the Week - July 2, 2008

Inner City Outings (ICO) is the Sierra Club's community outreach program of underprivileged children and adolescents. We're a 100% volunteer-run organization of certified Sierra club trip leaders working to provide young people with outdoor recreational opportunities, leadership training, positive group experiences and environmental education, while imbuing in them a love of nature and the outdoors.

How long have you been involved?

I joined in 2004. My roommate told me about it. It took me about a year to become a Certified Trip Leader.
 
Obviously, ICO is fantastic for the kids. What would you say is the most rewarding aspect for you personally?

It's about paying it forward. When I was growing up I had fantastic mentors through programs like Girl Scouts and Camp Fire Girls (is that group even around anymore?!). In order to live authentically, I think we all need our Thing - the activity we take on which becomes our central contribution to a better community, a better country, a better world. Since moving to New York, NY ICO has been my Thing.
 
How has your involvement with Meetup helped or enhanced your ability to provide this amazing experience?

We put NY ICO on Meetup to help organize our calendars a bit better and create a sense of community among our volunteers. We have 6 groups going out almost every month and lots of volunteers who want to know about the trips so they can help out. Meetup has given our volunteers a central location to check out what's going on and let Certified Trip Leaders know they'd like to come along!

What is the most memorable feedback you've received from the children involved?

Lots of gems like: "That water looks mad refreshing." "I like hiking but I hate all this walking."  "You guys are really nice people."
 
What are some ways the public can support the ICO program (ie: volunteerism, financial and so on)

There are several agencies and schools who'd like to be involved with NY ICO, but we can't sign them on because we don't have enough Certified Trip Leaders to lead the groups. We need more people who are willing to make NY ICO their Thing and sign on for a year or two. There are many rewards - one of the biggest being the ability to get to know the kids over an extended period of time. You're really able to grow with them in this way and see how your efforts pay off.

Umm....we could also use more guys! For some reason, most of our volunteers are women. It would be nice for the young boys in our groups to have some male mentors to look up to.

And, of course, money always helps!  NY ICO is made possible by its volunteers who give generously of their time and skills, and by donations of money and equipment made from its supporters.  Financial support from foundations, corporations, and individuals is always needed to anppreciated.

 
What are you hopes for the future growth of this Meetup?

I hope more of our volunteers will upload their photos and bios and start chatting with each other on-line! It's very rare for all the NY ICO volunteers to get together physically in one place. Using Meetup is a great way for us to keep in touch!