february 18. 2000 * J u s t o u t 19
Get inspired by these volunteers who know something about giving back
by J onathan
K ipp
erhaps y o u ’re som eone <who
has alw ays intended to volun
teer your time an d talents, but
you ju st haven’t foun d the
right opportunity. M aybe
you’ve seen volunteers m arch
ing joyfully in the pride parade and
you're ju st a tad bit envious o f the niche
each has foun d. It can be easy to allow
months and even years to pass by while
w aiting fo r the perfect organization to
present itself.
In the m eantim e, people everywhere
are quietly m aking a difference. These
are people we really adm ire, an d we
secretly w onder if they will
win a higher floor in heaven.
S o , if you w ant to m ake a
difference by volunteering
and don ’t know where to
start, peruse these organiza
tions an d see if there isn’t
som ething you can
co n
tribute to the queer com m u
nity.
A s a w ay o f show casing
each group, Just O ut htis
profiled a volunteer from
each one. These people are
P ink F lam ingos
Provides year-round wild, campy, queer fun
that raises money to benefit organizations
in the queer community.
Needs volunteers for Feb. 25 bingo extrava
ganza and future outrageous events.
Contact: (503) 233-5484, www.xjs.com/pf
Melissa Arnold
ho better to be one of the Pink Flamin
gos than someone who used to care for
the colorful birds?
Melissa Arnold vol
unteers for the zany
group and believes in
what the Flamingos do
for the community.
“It is a social group
that is doing communi
ty work,” she says.
The Flamingos pro
duce fund-raising
events and provide a
fun, social compo
nent to sometimes-
serious issues. Arnold
thinks that raising
money in this manner
is a positive way to
operate.
Arnold’s energy to do vol
unteer work comes from the
people with whom she’s in
contact: “They are great peo
ple,” she says of the other
Flamingos and those who
attend the events.
She also volunteers with
Bowling for Rhinos and is a
coach for a Hawaiian outrig
ger canoe team.
Arnold solicits donations
for the Pink Flamingos, helps
do “whatever” at events and
serves as one of the group’s
biggest cheerleaders. Once
described as “compact, quick
and agile,” by a reporter writ
ing about her work at the Ore
gon Zoo, Arnold brings the
same qualities to her busy vol
unteer life. She believes in giving back to the
community and uses her sense of humor and
energy to do it.
“I’m the fun one!” she says with an impish
smile.
O u r H ouse
The Flamingos produce fund-raising
events and provide a fun, social
component to
sometimes-serious issues.
manner is a positive way
tending a lot o f black-tie
to operate. Her energy to
do volunteer work
a ffa irs, but they do show up
comes from the
and do the work in fron t o f
people with
them. They don’t fancy them
whom she's
selves changing the w orld
in contact.
not getting aw ards or a t
much at all.
B ut they do. O n e hour at
a time.
Melissa Arnold
P o rtlan d
A residential care facility for those living
with and dying from A ID S .
Needs volunteers for a wide array of service
opportunities.
Contact: (5 0 3 ) 23 4 -0 1 7 5
Melissa Arnold thinks
that raising money in this
of
Jim Bean
W
hile Jim Bean believes it is important for
him to help out in the gay community,
he sees a larger
picture.
“It’s
just
human "Everybody needs
beings helping human
beings,” he says about his to, in some way
weekly stint at Our or fashion, find
House, a 10-bed home
like facility for people some way to give
with A ID S
back somewhere.
Bean usually washes
dishes during his weekly Even if it is just
visit to the hospice, but being nice
“sometimes its just sit
ting with someone,” he to the people
explains, referring to the next door."
periodic need for volun
teers to provide compan
— Jim Bean
ionship for people who
are getting close to death.
Bean says his friends
sometimes suspect his
volunteerism at Our House is horribly depress
ing, but he claims it is not.
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