{"id":4253,"date":"2020-07-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www2.hshsl.umaryland.edu\/hslupdates\/?p=4253"},"modified":"2020-07-02T10:26:22","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T14:26:22","slug":"hs-hsls-virtual-hour-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.hshsl.umaryland.edu\/hslupdates\/?p=4253","title":{"rendered":"HS\/HSL\u2019s Virtual Hour of Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photograph

\u201cI spent an hour on my busy street and filled up my bucket, only to meet a sweet neighbor, Charles, who spends his time keeping the other side of the street clean.\u201d \u2013 Everly Brown, Head of Information Services, HS\/HSL<\/p><\/div>\n

On Tuesday, June 23, 2020 the Health Sciences and Human Services Library staff participated in a virtual hour of service.\u00a0 Library staff were encouraged to set aside an hour of their work day to serve the community.\u00a0 Participants chose the charity, non-profit, or service of their interest and provided an hour of their time.\u00a0 The idea was to do something as a group to come together virtually and spread kindness in a difficult time.<\/p>\n

\"Happy

\u201cHappy Smiles Box created by kids in the neighborhood that has served as a \u201clittle library\u201d at times and also has needed supplies, depending on what\u2019s going on\u201d. \u2013 Nancy Patterson, Network Engagement Librarian, Regional Medical Library<\/p><\/div>\n

Twenty-three staff members participated in a variety of service avenues.\u00a0 Several staff members took to the streets to pick up trash or weed in local parks and others donated food, blood, personal hygiene items, or money to local charity organizations.\u00a0 Some staff members took on more personal service including preparing a home-cooked meal for essential worker-neighbors; or another spread words of kindness and encouragement through hand-painted rocks hidden in a park.\u00a0 Some staff members took the virtual hour of service literally and volunteered their hours to transcription of archival resources, online poetry readings for incarcerated individuals, or participated in online email and text campaigns for social justice movements.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot

\u201cOn Fridays I bike fresh produce from a local CSA to neighbors who can\u2019t go and pick it up due to COVID. It\u2019s been a really cool experience- I get to bike to neighborhoods I probably wouldn\u2019t see otherwise, I get to test how much produce I can fit in my backpack, and I\u2019ve learned about farming in the city (like you can grow fig trees?!)\u201d \u2013 Gail Betz, Research Education and Outreach Librarian, HS\/HSL<\/p><\/div>\n

The hour of service had unanticipated outcomes for participants as well.\u00a0 For example, several staff members commented on connecting with new neighbors and making new friends while out collecting trash or weeding in the park.\u00a0 Others learned more about the challenges and climate in their own communities through ongoing participation in food delivery and collection programs aimed at helping seniors and high-risk citizens.\u00a0 Jarrod Irwin, Consumer Health Coordinator in the Regional Medical Library, participated in the Smithsonian\u2019s online transcription project with the Freemans Bureau Papers; this experience provided Irwin with a better historical perspective on current issues. \u00a0He stated, \u201cThese letters suggest that even during Reconstruction, when U.S. leaders were actively trying to integrate formerly enslaved people and their families into society through education and other means, the need was so much greater than they apparently allowed for. A disappointing and distressingly familiar problem a century and a half later.\u201d\u00a0 The day provided a variety of avenues for the library to come together to make a better place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A list of organizations impacted by the HS\/HSL\u2019s Day of Service:<\/p>\n