Ask what you can do for your community.

This month I joined the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce plus donated cleaning services in silent auctions for both Zion Lutheran Church and Douglas County Hospital. One house has already been cleaned with another scheduled for next Tuesday. Yes! What a great way to give while meeting wonderful people.

The Chamber of Commerce has many opportunities to volunteer, meet new people and give back to the community. At the Quarterly Luncheon on December 14th the new members meeting had a fantastic turnout with about 30 business owners introducing themselves.

Six people approached me with cleaning needs ranging from an expectant mother who already has a two year old and a full-time professional career to a rental unit owner to a resort owner with cabins to clean next summer.

One woman had just found a new cleaning service last month when her housekeeper of eight years left. (I told her she could always make a change.) She still asked for three business cards after learning I’d had numerous homeowners in the gated community of North Oaks near White Bear Lake, Mn. It was apparent to her if I’d grown my client list by referrals among those residents who include Congressional Senators, celebrities & business leaders, I’d proven myself to be trustworthy. Trust in my business comes on many levels: confidentiality, dependability and responsibility. Trust is paramount when you are allowing someone outside of your family circle access to your most private space – and with a key! And while you are not home! My first homeowner in North Oaks came to me by referral – so did all of the others. That does say something…

Membership in the Chamber of Commerce has already proven beneficial. Now I look forward to giving back through volunteer opportunities.

Click here for Chamber info:
http://www.alexandriamn.org/index.php/chamber/about_us/

Makes you appreciate your Minnesota lifestyle.

Life in the outskirts, originally uploaded by carf.

Title: Life in the Outskirts:
Life in the urban outskirts of the big Brazilian cities like São Paulo imposes a life marked by routine, with great limitations in terms of leisure, either due to the facilities’ precarious conditions, or due to lack of money.

Sharing Caring Human Charity Life Standards

The Cellist, originally uploaded by bdmckeown.

By Ben Mckeown
The Cellist: As I was walking down the street, I saw this man playing absolutely beautiful cello music outside of the gates of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the end of the annual convention at the Tabernacle, and a large, bustling crowd was pouring from the large concrete gate which surrounded the tabernacle. I closed my eyes for a moment and listened to the perfection coming from his cello strings. Laid open at the man’s feet was his old cello case, acting as a humble request for monitary compensation. I peered in the case, and to my dissapointment, I found that only a few single dollar bills had been offered. It seemed quite ironic to me that men and women of such seemingly privelaged status (elegant suits, ties, and dresses were on each person) declined to offer anything to this man. Those who were exiting hardly even turned their ears to listen. However, about 100 feet away from the cellist, a young, elegantly clad violinist was playing equally beautiful music with his case open at his feet. This sharp young violinist truly looked as if he belonged within the gates. In essence, one could surmise that this violinist didn’t need any money. A crowd had gathered around him to close their eyes and bob their heads to the sounds of his instrument. There must have been $200 in his open case. Back at the other street corner, the cellist (pictured here) seemed to be oblivious to the cold shoulders by which he was so often greeted.
I wondered about the symbolism of this scenario – privelaged persons exiting a massive temple surrounded by an impenetrable wall…and a poor man outside the gates, dirty and unshaven, to whom no one will offer even a listening ear. See if you think (like I do) that this cello playing man shares some uncanny resemblance to the historically accepted image of another church figure. Just a thought.