Community Service

Next meeting of our Community Service committee iwill take place by Zoom March 3, 7 pm. Scroll to Agenda and Zoom Link evolving below .

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Agenda for Tues. March 3, 7 PM

Watch this space for ZOOM LINK:

Introductions. We might have more committee members!

Announcing Tasks done since last meeting:

HERE'S the "save the date" to announce the Amazing Race. <-- send people there to register
Maggie turned the SUPER SECRET web site public for our Feb 19 soft roll out interest meeting to concide with the CCW's "Explore DC Happy Hour" in Bethesda
Moved most of the legs of the race outlined to a locked document here: Legs Defined Google Doc. We keep those clues and instruction secret till race day.
Posted at CCW: March 11 Happy Hour/ Amazing Race Interest meeting. <--Register there.
Determined registration fees that would secure commitment and provide for us a healthy budget. (Had to make an executive decision and alleviate troubles on treasurer.) Squad Captain rate: $12 (CCW members only). Participant on a Squad and all guests in all 3 categories (name which captain in an email to Librarian MS@ Gmail .com): $12 Sub/Joiner Pool rate: Individual seeking a squad to join $12.
Fleshed out a meeting calendar for planners. See below.
Initiated a Google Form to collect Squad Registrations and photos --a spreadsheeet useful for developng the Leader Board
Create and assign monitoring of a WhatsApp thread? Could be fun for buzz and also answering questions day of race. I can build into th registration procedures that each squad have at least ONE member participating. It could help us manage last second logistics and "where are you" on Race Day.
Interest Meeting Series Agenda developed: presently at home page of SECRET site)
Changed terminology away from "Losers" to "Substitutes" Pool and improved web site to make pages shorter where possible.

In Progress:

All: Please go through the Meeting list in the box below and plan out your schedule of which meetings you'll attend. When you are able to commit, please send me your intention and I'll know how to develop a relevant itinerary. I will list the probable attendees in that box for transparency.
Defining the roles / tasks for each member of the committee... largely through one-on-one meetings with Maggie.
Feb. 19th's CCW General happy hour. -- prepping our soft roll out.
Monitor how many Squad Captains are registered so far? Note that these Squads are fakes for the purposes of illustration and hype only: Mike's Maniacs, Gil's Gladiators, Ezra's ExtraFast, Triumphant Tridelts.
Alan will scrutinize and fine-tune with Maggie the race leg (#4?) used for distribution of Stroke Smart materials, and based on progress of registrations through April, will ship the appropriate # of SS handouts, being super careful not to be wasteful. Maggie will monitor registrations and post # of teams at Leaderboard for all to be able to monitor.
Maggie is gathering by e-mail your g-mail address if you have one and want view only access to the super secret leg instructions, or if our bilateral work could be supported by Google Docs.
Posting the Interest Meetings so that CCW members can sign up, learn more, form squads. is already underway.
All, I think it's wise for me to collect your phone number to have in case of emergency. I have Julie's so far.
Consider... in addition to the business cards, should we order SWAG with our logo printed on it? 50 pens costs me $100 at Vistaprint. (I have to spend $50 to get 20.)
Let's definitnely revisit the idea of maybe ordering t-shirts or caps (for organizers, made availabale for purchase by interested participants) Need someone to lead out on this, but I can supply logo-- it works best against a white background. You would save receipts and turn in to Mel, our treasurer, for fast repayment. Must determine our budget for this as I have almost no $$$ to pay for it, so it should be self-funding. Maggie would pay max $10 for a cap or $12 for her own t-shirt, FYI, and PREFERENCE is if I can get it sized / shaped for women in large. Custom ink is a source for ink and embroidered designs at different price points. They did a fantastic job on (expensive) caps linked here that were $42 since fewer than a dozen were ordered.

Do later:

I have time to "hand-make" some winners' medals for our top teams. See the medals that I made for our Jun '25 Charity Run at lower left pic.
Should we set up a WhatsApp thread for lead up? For May 9? (Why not?) Who sets up? Who monitors? Which TAR members would participate? Based on experience, I know comms through this mechanism hit only a partial set of the audience who can opt in or opt out.) If we set one up, I can put the link at the Web Site and develop a "Contact" page there closer to the race.
We will make a mid -April decision about whether we have enough squads to hold a whole day event or revert to only the part where we distribute Stroke Smart materials.
What should ORGANIZERS wear to stand out on race day? Should I order t-shirts? Baseball caps? Red bandanas? I have lanyards with badges (the kind you get at a conference)
Proposal: April 15 we will do a "temperature check" to see if we have at least 3 paid Squads and a substantial enough Sub Pool to continue organizing the FULL TAR. Deadline will be April 30 to decide to shrink event to just the leg for distributing SS materials if we don't have at least a FEW DEPENDABLE SQUADS to justify the larger race organization. It is just REALLY unpredictable to know if this event will get a lot of registrants or not. So many variables, and we have to build in anticipation of a significant number of no-shows. Sound good? Our LAST SECOND PR can happen between April 15-30. April 30 needs to be a hard deadline (to ensure we could communicate modifications to our program across registrants. <-- based on significant experience with CCW communications systems.)

Consider these criteria for legs of THE AMAZING RACE:

Click open the Legs Defined Google Doc (requires google login)

Can the LEGS of the race be improved from this Feb. 3's first draft to be a balance of physical, cultural, community service, competitive, problem-solving that people of ALL AGES can be drawn upon in their Squads? Expect diverse squads. It would be a mistake to keep the challenges lop-sided in one direction, ie., just physical.
Is the ORDER of LEGs helping people CONNECT among squad members and between squads? Does the order building community connection, and momentum for racers? Suspense? Does the Leg involving DISTRIBUTION OF STROKE SMART utilize "who's left" on a day that might feel long and involve elimination rounds? At what points do we eliminate squads? Can a "fast forward" (define it better) save a team in the back of the pack?
Will the possibililities of the Joiner/Sub pool help us build excitement, bonding and participation as I hope?
Can we suggest photo ops along the way? Require submitting images we can use on social media at any leg?
Maggie has piles of "potential props" and equipment she'll bring race day and to Interest Meetings. 7 stuffed bears, lotsa red ribbon, bag of red feathers, Cornell flag, card table to haul around to different "leg starts" or "leg finish lines..." colored masking tape, thumb tacks, plastic bags, 250 biz cards with our logo and CCW web address as take-aways at Happy Hours, etc, 50-ish lanyards with "their respective plastic see-through nametag pouches-- the kinds uses at conferences and can label Organizers or Participants during legs of the race if we need people to "stand out."

Individual Assignments - sign up or just do?

Alan's shall be the tsar of Distribution of Stroke Smart Leg (currently Leg #4 around lunchtime), explanations, duration, etc. Write it all out to share with committee here on the Legs Defined Google Doc (sharable by gmail address).
All: consider coming to 1 or more Interest meeting to support Maggie and field Questions. Those meetings (box below) will offer Maggie a time to connect on planning tasks, too. Liz, your WARMTH would really work for recruiting squads to sign up, but I know you are tightly scheduled with work and Board responsibilites. Sneha, your enthusiasm could REALLY draw in young ones. JJ? Build a squad and assign a Captain! Could everyone on CS and TAR push our Interest Meetings on at least 3 targets Squad Captains???
All: encourage buzz around TAR. Encourage people to think of forming Squads and coming to at least one interest meeting and "bring a friend." If your email has the image containing our logo, it will get!
All but especially JJ and Julie: Maggie really needs others' eyes to thin, copy-edit, make clear what she puts in too much writing. Speak up with questions, feedback.
Kaku- any interest in looking into t-shirts or caps to order? Would you chief that mission start to finish with a draft of "how to order" and delivery included?
Kaku and Elysa, your families might be a chief targets to FORM A SQUAD to run TAR. I could give you that responsibility to be our "guinea pigs" to test our registration procedures.
ALL: see above. I need a guinea pig squad to be the first to appy the registration steps that I'll devise. It's hard for me without a test-pilot. With whom(Squad Captain) could I email about this? Can you feed me their email address?
Julie and JJ, I really could use your help to EXAMINE THE LEGS and help develop a "run of show" for Race Day. TIMINGS and LOCATIONS? Clarity of clues? Who is staffed where to provide starts, finishes, transitions to next leg, setting up of props so that the clues work, wording of clues.
I will be doing a lot of tech work, PR and liaising with our comms people like Steve, Emma, Karen with CCW in balance with my ongoing webmastering responsibilities.

Watch this to-do section develop! What did I miss? THANK YOU for collaborating with a crazy lady! It's going to be AMAZING, meaningful, hilarious and memory-making. It takes a village and you'll be so proud on Race Day!

Calendaring for The Amazing Race:

TAR = The Amazing Race

TAR committee members can tell Maggie when you can meet on 1-4 of these occasions. You are not required to come to all! In some cases, Maggie just needs one other person there or a one-on-one parlay!

Feb 19 World of Beers in Bethesda - TAR sits at a table to promote the event during a "general" happy hour that CCW has on the calendar. Registration will go live on that day. I hope to promote the web site, help people meet others to form teams, concey 15 min of information as folks drop by. (Who's attending? Maggie and ___ )
March 3 and April 7, (and maybe add May 5 which is the Tuesday before Race Day?) CCW Community Service Standing Cmtee meetings by Zoom at 7pm (In the past, these were for Liz, Elysa, Eric) but will take on THE AMAZING RACE as their chief focus. TAR committee members can come if able and contribute "reports" of individual progress or feedback. (All invited! Who's attending? Maggie and ___ )
March 9 TAR Committee "walk through" in Alexandria organizational meeting (3-7 pm --come when you can followed by optional dinner) to "test the legs" of the race as our super secret web site currently explains them. Purpose: Walk out the legs to test timing since 10 legs might be too many. Gather specifics like addresses for clues/ starts/ finishes. List supplies needed for each leg's "start." Assign one TAR member as tsar of that leg, responsible to develop with Maggie the details of that part of TAR. Compose the final wording of the "clues" that start each leg. Discuss sourcing the equipment needed for each race leg. Continually re-group, reflect/make goals for upcoming meetings. (Who's attending? Maggie and Julie ). Alan need not attend; the focus will be the other legs.

Interest meetings for potential Squads- Maggie can conduct alone if necessary:

- - - - Wed March 11 TAR-specific Happy Hour as an Interest Meeting and Squad Building Session at Mr. Henry's in DC (5:45 - 7:15... jazz follows upstairs at 8 pm). Registration link for CCW members already set up. (Who's attending? Maggie and ___ )
        Sat. March 14 at 3:30 pm Daytime TAR Interest Meeting and Squad Formation to inform and gather people into squads. Location: National Gallery of Art Garden Cafe-- Maggie can conduct alone. Very small turnout anticipated. She will conduct this immediately following a 2pm French Sculpture Tour that she could attend/host others in CCW to enjoy. (Who's attending? Maggie and ___ )
        Zoom DAYTIME April Interest Meeting (Tentatively April 14 at noon). Maggie will in Greece.) Purpose: to inform and gather participants into squads with specific assigned Squad Captains. There will be a big emphasis to create squads out of the people in the Substitute/Joiner Pool. Maggie can conduct alone, but would love support! (Who's attending? Maggie and ___ )
May 9: Please all be committed to attending and helping conduct the registration, legs of the race, set up equipment, "judging victories" along the way. I will probably assign each of you the leg that you command start to finish, while assigning other TAR to support you that leg.

One-on-One Meetings between Maggie and individual committee members:
Per task assignments, we'll all be doing additional one-on-one phone calls, Zooms or in person meetings (Maggie likes those most!) Contact Maggie by email-- can set up a "huddle!"
- - - - Date: Feb. 16 at 10 am Maggie and Julie will meet for coffee at Maggie's house to examine legs/roles/tasks
      - Date: last week in February, Alan and Maggie will have a one-on-one meeting ONLY focused on fine-tuning his leg of TAR, that is the Stroke Smart distributuion. Alexandria. Exact time TBD. 10 am Monday?
      - Feb 18 at 8:15 pm JJ and Maggie Zoom: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83629863092?pwd=83Juffkamo6lUPasXBpxjzZ5GfUdiM.1

- - - - Meeting ID: 836 2986 3092
      - Passcode: 6QNGRi

What our committee does:

Community Service Committee

The Vice-President (Community Service) chairs the Community Service Committee, which manages periodic service events. The chair appoints vice-chairs as are necessary to the functioning of the committee.

Purpose: Our PRIMARY work involves planning, posting, and interfacing to ensure the success of 2 Cornell Cares events per year. (VP/CS provides a monthly report of our activities at the Board Meetings.)
As able and wlling, committee members initiate and lead out ADDITIONAL service projects, programs, charity fundraisers and events and meet-ups at charity organizations' with whom we partner for their success. They apply event-planning resources for 2026 that are useful and currently housed at the VP's site here and noted at on CCW's web site at volunteer resources and opportunities.
We nurture volunteerism within CCW which makes CCW a thriving, attractive and purposeful organization by ensuring communication to our membership via CCW homepage, social media, event listings, and the (quarterly) club newsletter blasts.
Keep an up-to-date list of our resources and community service involvement under "Volunteer" at the CCW web site.
Effectively document for Board Use the operations and contacts of our committee for ease of training and application for year-to-year access and use.
Participation/Attendance of committee members is strongly recommended at the half-day "Cornell Cares" events that we run-- one in Jan and one in July or June. Attending the additional CCW CS events that a committee member herself initiates, chairs or vice-chairs is a "given" unless an able sub can be arranged in an emergency.
No experience needed! This is a great, low intensity committee to join to get a feel for CCW!
Time commitment is variable per month... only about 10-20 hours cumulative for the entire year.
Time of Year: most intense periods are September/Oct-- to establish a schedule and direction for the two major "Cornell Cares" events that will occur in January and July.
(Ensuring PR support from Ithaca for Cornell Cares events, especiallymay require starting 12 weeks ahead (for Cornell Cares events.)

(For additional service initiatives that the committee could take on at other times on the calendar, we typically research, plan, post and manage registrations/ communications about the event over the 6 weeks prior to the date of its conduct.)

How often and when are CS meetings? Only as necessary 4-6 x per year, usually first Monday, 6 pm by Zoom. Additional committee business is conducted primarily by email or phone. (Attending also the "Second Tuesday" Board meetings for CCW is encouraged but not required.)
Goals for 2025-2026: 1) successfully conduct both a January and a June (or July) "Cornell Cares" event that is promoted by PR from Ithaca and from CCW. 2) improve and update documentation of our contacts and committee work to have available for future use in CCW's"digital filing cabinet" (the platform called Wild Apricot.) 3) Creatively make our community service events inclusive and "socially bonding" for club members. 4) Celebrate volunteerism by posting at least 4 times on CCW's Instagram before July, 2026. 5) Ensure that the CCW home page and/or web pages regularly spotlights and opportunities for public service, refreshing and keeping them timely.
Committee members '25-'26 are CCW Board members Maggie Carpenter (VP). CCW members Elysa G-L and Eric B and Liz G

Community Service Committee Meeting records such as MINUTES: Archived here.

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