Why I Joined My Home Owners Association Board

I joined my local Home Owners Association (HOA) this past year!

What???

Why???

Mostly, I joined because I want to be part of the change for the positive in this world … and I believe that has to start where we live.

It’s like the old adage, “Bloom Where You’re Planted!”

There weren’t many people in attendance at the last annual HOA meeting and someone shared that I could be an “At-Large” Board member. How totally not cool to call me large, but they said I just had to attend the meeting which were for 1 hour 4 times/year. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

Also, I like to help how I can and with this position I’d have knowledge and say in what our community chose to do.

The HOA President officially asked (for the meeting minutes) if I’d like to join and I said I would be glad to. I don’t necessarily want to add meetings into my life or even more responsibility, but I do feel I have to be part of the change and that starts in my very own sweet community.

Local activism for the win!

Now to you…

Is there any organization you want to be a part of?

Is there an issue you want to help solve and be part of the solution and haven’t taken the plunge yet to join in for the solution?

A really great question to ask yourself if you’re unsure where you’d like to help out is, “what keeps you up at night?”

Then you’ll have a perfect place to start when looking for a group or organization to donate your time and money to.

Or are you already helping with a group of like-minded people that you really believe in? If so, thank you from me and the universe!!! Woo-Hoo!

There are so many excellent organizations to join if you want to be active in this world.

If you are ready and brave enough to get out there and raise your hand, you can find and join a group that stands for what you feel strongly about … or maybe a group that you have been directly impacted by.

There are many autism groups that are doing great things for our community!

I really like GRASP, though I haven’t done much with them except donate small amounts of money a few times a year, read some of their articles, and interesting stories on my Facebook Page.

My son on the autism spectrum is in the Beta Club at his high school. They’re required to volunteer four-hours each month during the school year and we’ve chosen to support Alexander Youth Network because they do some good work for kids who struggle with mental issues.

We had a friend on the spectrum go there and he’s doing amazingly well in part because of his time at Alexander. That’s the main reason we reached out to them to see if we could volunteer and they said yes.

When we’re volunteering there (I go too so that I can help Michael stay on task), we typically organize the clothes and toys in a designated kid’s area. We’ve also cleaned up their nature trails and collected litter for clean up. That might not seem like it directly helps the staff and patients, but it absolutely helps! We help to create an environment for the kids to have a clean and organized place to play and a clear, easy path to walk in nature.

You can ask your volunteer coordinator, “What can I/we do that would relieve the most stress for you?”

Every small act matters and I hope you get on out there and do what you can!

And your children?

What does your child feel strongly about?

I think that volunteering time and effort to someone outside of themselves and the safety of their home can help our different-brained kids know how to help others (that the world doesn’t revolve around them – cuz that’s a thing with kids on the spectrum).

I knew two young, male Aspie’s who felt strongly about women’s issues. One of them did an entire campaign and report on supporting breast cancer awareness.

Another of our young Aspie friends was an avid dog lover and volunteered at the local pet store each week. Here’s a cool video with Jackson Galaxy and an autistic girl who really benefits from being with all of the sweet, gorgeous kitty-cats at a shelter. There are so many of those wonderful stories that will warm your heart.

You can make a difference!

You can absolutely make a difference in your life and others’ lives just by reaching out to groups that are trying to create a more beautiful, kind, organized, respectful, and cohesive world.

A short time of energy and effort from you and your family can make the difference for a better world.

Lots of love and support,

Mica