Ashley Harrell

I’ll spare you the details… on why it’s taken me a ridiculously long time to get back to blogging. Instead, I’ll tell you what inspired me to come back. First of all, at my job, I meet some tremendous people. Not only do I meet people in our vocational rehabilitation program that I am continuously inspired by, I meet great people in our community that are eager to give back in some way. Last week, I had a wonderful introduction to an awesome artist here in NYC, recently voted as “Most Creative New Yorker” in Time Out NY. Jason Borbay told me about the ways he integrates blogging, facebooking, tweeting, etc, into his everyday life so his fans and followers can stay updated on his projects. He mentioned to me that he had googled and found my blog – and I was more than a little embarrased that nothing had been mentioned here on this site in five months. So thanks Jason for bringing me back to the blogging community!

So here I am – living in the West Village (now for nearly eight months!), working my butt off at an awesome non-profit, singing musical improv with my group “Zamboni!“, telling stories at my monthly storytelling show “Fireside” in Brooklyn, and training for a few half marathons coming this Spring. Did I mention I’m looking for a boyfriend? (Just kidding… sorta.) Now that I have all my links sufficiently posted on this blog – I’ll get to the heart of my point.

Today I was coming home late after a great workout at my new gym (loving the SoHo 24 Hour Fitness!), and I turned up my street (Sullivan), where I have a supremely wonderful view of the Empire State Building. Trust me – it looks much bigger in person than it does on my iPhone camera. Most New Yorkers already know this about the ESB, but the lights on the building change almost nightly, and they almost always represent some event, holiday or special campaign. So tonight, I was struck by the beautiful blues and greens on the building. When I got into my apartment, I quickly checked the official website, and found that the colors stand for the “International Corporate Philanthropy Day.” How appropriate?! This got me thinking of a possible volunteer campaign to use at work – funny how these fundraising whims hit me at all times of the day… or night. I actually had a dream a few weeks ago of a fundraising event idea, but then I thought it might be a little hard to get all those ponies in one room. It’s a joke. JK.

So yeah – bottom line is, if you have a few extra hours every week, month, or even just a few hours every year – find a local non-profit that could really benefit from your service. You’d be surprised how satisfying it can be when you work towards the greater good.

Or, if you insist on being a hermit (I’ll still love you), you can just donate to my organization, ACE Programs for the Homeless, to help us support our work with recovering homeless men and women in the five boroughs of New York City. Click here to donate. Thanks!