My Site Has Moved

I am so excited to announce that I have a new address for my blog! Please visit me at http://www.niecytaylor.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Of Service: The Perfect Example

Ben

Some may be turned off that I talk about my faith so much in relation to my work. The reality is that my faith is the true essence of who I am, so I do it unashamed and am unapologetic about it.  My life of service is because I follow the greatest example that ever lived – Jesus Christ.

The Easter season always reminds me of the ultimate sacrifice that any man has ever given – the sacrifice of One’s own life to save others.  I love this season because I believe it is a time for new life to spring forth, for breakthrough and resurrection of God’s purpose in our lives.

One of the most common practices during this season – foot washing-  serves as a reminder to us as leader’s – whether believers or not – that in order to effectively lead, we must be good at serving.  We must always remember to not view ourselves as better than those we are leading.

We can glean an important lesson from the lesson taught by Jesus to His disciples when he said:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.”

How important that lesson is.  In the context of leading an organization or movement, we must always remember that the people we are serving must come first. Sometimes we get so caught up in the process that we lose sight of our mission, our purpose.  At the end of the day, we are called to serve, and our work must reflect that.

This past weekend, my brother-in-law and others from the Men’s Ministry visited the Albuquerque Rescue Mission to take part in their foot washing service. I was moved by his testimony about the experience.  In response to a conversation he had with a man he met that day who had lost his home that he, his wife and three children were living, this is what Ben said:

“He told me that when times get tough just speak to God and he will see you out.I thought to myself if a man in his situation has faith in God we should all have faith. Over these past few months I have asked God just to use me to help people. I know there is a calling on the purpose of my life.”

So this Easter season I ask my readers, what are you doing to serve in order to understand God’s purpose for your life?  Even if you are a non-Christian, what inspires you to serve day after day.  I’ve worked with people who amaze me, whose daily activities are full of Grace, yet they are devout atheists.  I see God in their work – even if they don’t acknowledge Him. Through their service, the purpose for their life is revealed.

The greatest example I can think of on how to live a purpose driven life is that displayed to us by Jesus.  If He understood that He must serve in order to be an effective leader and to fulfill the purpose for His life, then I know without a shadow of a doubt that I must serve as well.

Whether it be feet washing, stepping out the office to actually meet your organization’s clients or volunteering at a place that serves those less fortunate than you, I challenge you to step out this Spring to serve and to find your purpose.

Quote of the Day: Service

“Serving someone today will be more rewarding and fulfilling than your endless pursuit of individual gain.” Pete Wilson

Diversity – Where Are You?

I must admit, one of my greatest frustrations with working in the Community Change (non-profit) sector is our repeated attempts to “find” diversity and our repeated “failures” in “finding” it.

I’ve sat in many rooms with many great leaders of some pretty awesome organizations and listened to the conversation about how our boards don’t “look like” or represent the clients we serve and our staffs don’t either.  Many times the conversation has gone to the fact that those in administrative positions may “look like” the clients but those in decision making roles do not.  After all this talk has occurred, I can generally feel eyes in the room glance at me, as if I – the single Black woman in the room – might have THE answer. I don’t.

I don’t know why many of our organizations sit around the table at strategic planning meetings, board meetings, staff meetings and hiring committees and ask this question. I don’t know.  I deleted the line in this post about the reality that people have mounting student loan debt and can’t afford a life in the non-profit world, that’s a fact. I also deleted the line about people finally “making it out” and wanting to make the kind of money they never had before.  I have to respect both positions, but I don’t think the answer is there.

I think the answer is so much deeper than that.  I don’t know how many times I’ve talked to my friends about the work I do and they say, “oh, you are doing your non-profit thing”, as if one day I’m going to snap out of it and pursue a real career.

I think the world needs to start talking about our sector differently.  I happen to feel I’m having a greater impact on the lives of many more people doing my “non-profit thing” than some of my banker friends who “have arrived” because they are making huge paychecks.  Wouldn’t it make sense for us to swap salaries and I make the fat paycheck for changing the world? I’m speaking candidly, but we need to be bold about the work we are doing and the REAL change we are impacting.  To me it is not about dollars but it is about a respect for the work and not just from those of us within the sector.  If society placed the same value on real community change as it does on making a lot of money, I think more and more people would desire to work in our sector.

This change is community change. It is social change in the way our work is viewed by everybody.   As my friend and collaborator Ericka Hines says:

“That takes thinking about our work from a 35 k foot level, repackaging it and send it back to us.”

To this I say, let’s go to the mountain top and repackage it ourselves.

Quote of the Day

No secret to leadership, just lead. No secret to service, just serve.

Niecy Taylor

1 Month After the Quake

(AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

Friday marked one month since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the city of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.  It was one month ago that many Haitians lost their lives, lost loved ones and left thousands homeless.

On January 12th, I remember feeling in my heart that I had to do something.  I automatically texted Yele to give a small donation to Yele Haiti.  I prayed and prayed for days for peace, for understanding, for trust in God for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.  I followed blogs. I watched news coverage from dawn until dusk.

I am much more engaged in social change now than I was when Katrina devastated our brothers and sister living on the Gulf Coast, and as I watched the tremendous response and relief efforts to the disaster in Haiti, I couldn’t help but question how long it would last.

The power of the internet in connecting millions of people and making us all global citizens is a marvelous thing. I’ve followed as people have turned social media into tools of advocacy.  Just check out Shaun King’s twitter stream, and see the devotion he and others have put into organizing a mass campaign to get tents to Haiti before the rainy season begins.  Just yesterday I was introduced to a young Haitian artist, Saskya Sky, who won the “One Minute to Shine” contest on Black Planet and donated her $1,000 prize money to relief efforts in Haiti.  I can only have gratitude for everyone who is doing something, anything, to help in the relief and rebuilding efforts.

I was moved to write this post after a friend asked this question on Facebook:

Please tell me why no one is talking about Haiti anymore…as if all the problems over. The olympics should not be the only thing on the news………

I couldn’t escape her question because I have fallen guilty to the paradigm of resuming life as normal.  I think about our brothers and sisters in Haiti every day, I pray for them every day, but what have I done one month later to help? While many people’s lives will never be the same after January 12, 2010, many of us have resumed life as usual – including me. I can only pray the Lord forgives me.

My own desire to serve in Haiti has not subsided.  The organization I am planning to work with has decided to stagger their efforts throughout the region, and will not be coming to the southwest to do the necessary training until later this Spring. Their reasoning is they don’t want to send everyone at once and not have anyone else to send – as we all know Haiti will need sustained help.

I will continue to pray for my brothers and sisters in Haiti.  Although life for me and you does go on, I promise to carry their struggle in my heart so that in my own daily life, I don’t forget just how blessed I truly am. I feel a connectedness to the people of Haiti like I’ve never felt before. Thank you for your resilience.  Thank you to all the servants and relief workers in Haiti. Thank you to all the servants and activists here in the U.S. and thank you for the gut-check that we must not stop talking, we must not stop praying, we must not stop doing – because we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers.

A Servant’s Prayer

This prayer is taken from the daily devotional “Called to Conquer”. As I go out each day to increase my service to all of mankind, this is the perfect prayer to guide me.

Lord, I tremble every time I sense You calling my name. Speak, Lord, I am listening. If someone is hurting and You want to heal his pain, send me. If one person, family, village, or nation is struggling in darkness and You are ready to send light, use me. Only know from the beginning that I know I am weak and that You are strong. Speak to me, lead me, send me; but send me in Your strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Do Better: How many more children must die?

Last week, while skimming a few posts in my inbox, I read a headline titled “Denver boy, 9, died after state-benefits error denied him asthma medication“.  As I gasped, I felt like I was reading a repeat story from 2007.

(Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

In 2007, 12 year old Deamonte Driver died because of a lack of adequate dental care.  I can remember making the numerous calls to dentists in Prince George’s County who were listed as Medicaid dental providers.  I can remember hanging up the phone time after time completely frustrated. The response I received from over 60 dental offices:

“No, we don’t take that insurance”.

In the meantime, a little boy was suffering.

So when I read the headline from last week I became furious.  How many more children must die in America, yes AMERICA, because of systemic failures?  The state of Colorado FAILED this little boy, just as the state of Maryland failed Deamonte.

After Deamonte’s passing, advocates got pissed.  The Public Justice Center refocused its Health Rights Project to raise awareness  of the realities poor children face in accessing dental care. Dentists and advocates came together to work out solutions to keep an atrocity like this from ever happening again.

So how does the grief and outrage felt in Maryland three years ago help prevent other tragedies like Zumante Lucero?  How many more children must die in vain before we hold state governments accountable for their failure to deliver safety net programs they are required to deliver by law?

I get even more outraged when state officials come out with their insensitive remarks, as in this:

“the death of any child is a tragic loss,” said spokeswoman Revekka Balancier. “And our department tries very hard to prevent these kinds of tragic accidents.”

Yes Ms. Balancier, Zumante’s loss is tragic. You know what else it should be? Illegal. His death was 100% preventable if your department had not failed him.

Story of Inspiration: A 3 year old serves

Posted at: 02/01/2010 9:20 PM
By: Misa Maruyama, Eyewitness News 4; Taryn Bianchin, KOB.com

It’s a gift from the heart.
Three-year-old Mylyn Beakley told her mother she wanted to help people in Haiti after she saw children without limbs on television and jumped into action.

Her mother Heidi Beakley was shocked. “She just went flying into her room and pulled out her leg… which I was keeping for a keepsake.”

Her father is a soldier in Afghanistan and recently learned Mylyn wanted to give away the leg she had outgrown.

“(Mylyn) told him on the telephone and he was just in tears crying,” recalled Beakley.

On Monday, she and her mother went to Active Life Orthotics and Prosthetics to donate the limb so it could be shipped overseas.

The staff there considered the offering unique because a lot of children are undergoing amputations in Haiti, but there aren’t as many children donating little prosthetic limbs.

Mylyn was the first child to donate a prosthetic limb to Active Life.

If you want to help, you can drop off a donation at their office on Alvarado near Central, Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 p.m.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s1395534.shtml?cat=504

Doing Your Part to Serve Haiti

Ever since January 12th,  my heart has been beating for the people of Haiti. It has been beautiful to watch the wave of love outpouring for this resilient nation. I have been moved by the strength of the people and inspired by the prayers, activism and hard-work many have been doing on the ground and at home.

It has been beautiful to watch people take regular activities and turn them into activities for good.  A friend mentioned that her normal salsa class is holding a fundraiser tomorrow night, and all proceeds will be going to relief efforts in Haiti. We’ve seen the amazing Charlie Simpson (above) ride his bike and raise more than $160,000 in a single day.

So what is it that you enjoy doing that you could use to serve the people of Haiti?  Now is the time to reflect on all you have and to realize you are your brother and sister’s keeper.

“The voice telling you that you cannot do something is always lying.” (unknown)

Photo: Associated Press