Volunteering After Ike

I hope all of you have recovered from Ike! I don’t
know about you, but I felt so helpless after the storm. I really wanted

to help the community and didn’t know how or what I could do.So, I did

some volunteer work at the End Hunger Network on I-45 where I was able to prepare food for disaster victims and the homeless. This was very rewarding (although washing dishes wasn’t too fun) and they are very appreciative of volunteers since they prepare 5,000 meals a day almost with 100% volunteers!

However, I still felt like I needed to help the community. So, the next day I went to the Red Cross but, without proper training, I was only given limited duties. I also tried to volunteer at the SPCA, but again…need to do their training and attend an orientation.This
was very frustrating, but I do understand that without training, some would just get in the way. So, I encourage all of you to join me and get some Red Cross training or other community service training (SPCA, Salvation Army, Food Bank, etc.) so that we will all be prepared to help out when another disaster strikes. Also, it is a good idea to plan ahead of time with your neighbors, homeowners association and community so that when a disaster strikes, you will not need to contact the Red Cross or other organizations to be told what to do. Instead, you will have an action
plan with designated duties for each person involved. Just some ideas!

Cari Shoemate

Hi! I'm Cari! I'm a fitness star turned Mom of 3 who lives in Houston, TX. Getting fit and healthy is a journey and one I understand well. After graduating from college I worked in a corporate setting for many years and gained a lot of weight and had an unhealthy lifestyle. Finally, after I had enough - I decided to regain my healthy lifestyle that I had in college by fitting in workouts and eating healthier. Eventually, I left my corporate job to become a full-time personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I also created Bombshell Bootcamp over 10 years ago and it has become one of Houston's top bootcamps! My passion then turned into greater opportunities to write workouts for national magazines, appear on tv doing workouts and speaking about healthy and fitness, making fitness DVD's and working with many celebrities. Fast forward a few years....and then I had my first baby! I'm now a Mom of 3 little ones and try to incorporate healthy living and exercise in our family's lives. Not only do I still blog about workouts and fitness, but I have shifted some to include family fitness, family travel, fashion, health/beauty and general lifestyle.