When Dori Chait moved to Baltimore in 2005, she quickly discovered that in the fall, everything revolves around the Ravens. So today, the former New Yorker is incorporating what she’s learned about her adopted community into a volunteer project she hopes others get behind.
YOU TURNED SOMETHING UNIQUELY BALTIMORE INTO A WAY TO GIVE BACK? During football season, it seems as if everyone is either at or watching a Ravens game. It’s hard to get many Baltimoreans engaged in other things. So I thought why not create a volunteer project that you could do as a group right before or after the game. Or during halftime?
YOU KICKED IT OFF ON SEPTEMBER 11TH? I was chairing Day to Unite for Jewish Volunteer Connection (JVC) in conjunction with the Governor’s Day to Serve. That happened to be the Ravens’ opener. With Tailgate with a Purpose, we encouraged people to volunteer in between watching the game.
WHAT DID PEOPLE DO? My son played baseball that day so we had everyone bring books
and/or school supplies to the game. We talked about where these items were going and how they would help other children a few miles away from where we live. Other groups brought gift cards or goodies to local fire and police departments in commemoration of 9/11. One group met at Flight One Carriers, a mile from the stadium, and packed disaster relief boxes while watching.
WHAT MAKES THESE PROJECTS SPECIAL? An important piece of JVC is service learning, and each tailgate bag includes a list of volunteer projects and guided questions to make it meaningful.
OTHER TAILGATE PROJECTS? During one game, a group of moms and kids made cheer bags, and we took them to Sinai’s Pediatric Unit with our children. We’ve made blessing bags (filled with necessities like toothbrushes, snacks, blankets to give to people living on the street) and soup kits. A fantasy football league is getting together at a restaurant and bringing books that influenced us as mothers. Everyone will speak about what the book means to them and the books will be donated to DRUM (DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families).
WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING? I will be donating The Rainbow Fish because it teaches the importance of giving to others and how it makes a person feel when they share a piece of themselves. I also will donate something funny like Confessions of a Scary Mommy because it really normalizes the transition into motherhood for people.
HAS VOLUNTEERING IMPACTED YOUR CHILDREN? There’s more awareness of the community at large. When they know we are going to the city, they suggest we bring a blessing bag. It’s created an awareness of the world outside of them.
