April 26, 2011 by Sandra Rogers.

When I incorporated this nonprofit, BrokeButNotForLong, I wasn’t thinking about going green.  Instead, I was thinking about the low-cost possibilities of providing reliable job information on the Internet for the unemployed.  For around $300 a year,  our organization is able to host our Web site on the Internet.  Of course, there are numerous volunteer hours that go into building the 18-page Web site, not to mention the ongoing maintenance.  Luckily, I’ve been able to recruit a few other volunteer bloggers.  By utilizing social media, we’ve been able to be eco-friendly on the job everyday!

Besides the other legal costs involved in maintaining a non-profit, 501(c)3 charity, we’re able to exist as a virtual company with few expenses.  I didn’t realize that we were a green company until I started getting twitter followers from other green companies and university projects! For example, the University of Southern California is following us on Twitter @broke4jobs. Twitter has proved to be the most powerful outreach for our organization.  “Broke” currently has 575 followers on twitter.  We’ve been able to network with universities, federal agencies, and companies involved in human resources, and individuals in need of a job without the waste generally involved with advertising, transportation, or running an office.

Furthermore,  my husband and I practice green living at our home office.  For instance, we recycle the ink cartridges, buy recycled paper, and recycle used paper, too.  Also, our Internet host, www.1and1.com reduces its carbon footprint.  Furthermore, we’ve created online alliances to help promote our free resources.  We joined the local Chamber of Commerce which hosts our information on their site for potential networking and usage.  Also, we host the FDIC’s MoneySmart podcast on our Web site, which enhances our financial education outreach mission.  Additionally, we hope to advertise our resources on public radio which will reach a large audience  in an eco-friendly manner!

Lastly, I mentor job seekers online and over the phone to keep costs down and reach a larger audience.  I’ve blogged about the wonderful jobs I’ve had throughout my career.  (See Diary of a Resume Parts 1 & 2)  Since I started mentoring teachers online for my profession, I thought about doing the same for job seekers.  It started with a few questions from my connections on LinkedIn.com.  I found that job seekers were so happy to get a response and interact with someone online!  You’re welcome to connect with me.  Here’s my public profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sandrogers.

Technology has afforded us the opportunity to reach you, our reader, on this blog, as well as thousands of others!  Everyday I think about how I can use social media to provide outreach.  I hope we can connect with another nonprofit to help raise funds for a worthy goal that aligns with our mission on the Gulf Coast.   To that end, I’ve been creating a profile of our charity on GuideStar.org to encourage charitable giving and provide transparency.  Here’s their video: http://videos.guidestar.org/Welcome.html.

April 9th was our 2nd anniversary as a nonprofit!

Sincerely,

Sandra Annette Rogers

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February 25, 2011 by Sandra Rogers.

Many people that want to work are having a hard time finding a job, as evidenced by the current high unemployment rate.  Many of the previous blogs have outlined proven and possible strategies for making ends meet and finding part or full time jobs.  All options should be explored and followed to their conclusions, either favorable or not.  One of the most difficult things is to remain positive when facing multiple reject or “check back later” responses.  One thing that has helped me in the past is the fact that anything worthwhile only seems to happen with hard consistent effort. 

Many years ago, I had a job selling books door to door.  Talk about rejection!  It’s hard to keep your spirits up when people keep saying “NO”! and slam the door in your face.  Part of the training I received was the premise that the more people I talked to, the more rejection I got, the closer I was to selling some of my products.  When I came to understand this principle, my mood and attitude improved, I started knocking on more and more doors, and looked forward to each rejection as the more I got, the closer I was to getting a “yes”.

Another lesson I learned from this experience was that I have to be patient, actively striving toward a goal, but realizing that it might take a while for it to come to fruition.  Success and failure are so closely related that one more incident of effort can be the fulcrum that catapults one from depression to achievement.

Mark Woodward

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January 13, 2011 by Sandra Rogers.

[Another version of this story is in the How to Write Persuasively Today by Carolyn Davis, published by ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press in 2010]

Strathmore House was an unregistered  Children’s Home in Spanish Town, Jamaica that was under the auspices of the Peace Corps in Jamaica.  Neglect, filth, and the accompanying parasites were pervasive for the residents.  There were about five times the number of children and young adults in the house could be accommodated comfortably.

As Peace Corps Volunteers in Jamaica from 1997-1999, a group of us tried to help the assigned Volunteer and the residents once a month or so by cleaning the house, helping the residents to bathe, and giving some lessons in care-giving to the staff.  The Volunteer who was assigned there introduced changes in hygiene and attempted to introduce attitudinal changes towards people with disabilities.

A young woman who had lived at Strathmore for quite a while talked to me about her condition.  Her body was emaciated and paralyzed; her intellect was clear as she relayed her story.

In 2006, Strathmore was no longer a Peace Corps site.  Few Americans or people of the European Union will ever live in such a home, since laws, policies, and funding reflect priorities that prohibit that degree of neglect.  In other parts of the world, however, not only does it exist, but it is condoned as care-taking.

Carolyn Davis, 

Guest Blogger

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December 20, 2010 by Sandra Rogers.

I’ve spent years promoting various behaviors—a healthy lifestyle, implementation of soil conservation practices, and spending more time practicing a musical instrument.   Most of my efforts have had very little effect.  I’ve been using the wrong approach.  I want to share some ideas about what works.

First, what do we mean by behavior change?  I’m talking about getting somebody to take some sort of action (or to stop one like quitting smoking).  We could use the term persuasion.  Usually these efforts are campaigns.  A utility company might carry out a campaign to get people to conserve electricity, for example.  Getting somebody to floss his or her teeth falls in this category, too.

The approach I’ve usually used—and that almost everybody uses—is to convince people that this is the right thing to do.  That it’s in their own self-interest.  Get them informed and get them to care.  This doesn’t work, at least not very often.

We realize this.  It doesn’t take me very long to make a list of things that I’m not doing.  I know all about them, and I’m convinced of their benefits.  (If you can’t make a list like this for yourself, please contact me—I need you to teach me.)

It turns out that behavior change happens when three things are present at the same time.  One of these is ability.  How difficulty or easy is it to do?  If a behavior is within one’s ability, doing that behavior is possible!  A second of the three ingredients is motivation.  You have to care enough or you won’t do it.  One common mistake is to think that information, alone, will motivate people.

There are loads of possible motivators, and information is not usually the key.  Wanting to and being able to do something are not enough.  The third thing that is needed is a trigger.  Take, for instance, brushing your teeth.  My usual trigger is finishing breakfast.  However, if I miss breakfast, I may forget to brush, as well.

Let’s imagine we’re on a road trip, and that we’re hungry.  That is motivation, perhaps to get some fruit to eat.  If we have some cash and some time to spare, we have the ability, too.  Nevertheless, we won’t unless there is a sign saying, “Fruit Stand—Buy it Fresh!”  A trigger+motivation+ability=behavior.

When considering a behavior, we have to look at what the barriers are.  Do we need to make something easier to do?  Not always.  Create an incentive to increase motivation?  Sometimes.  Create or identify some cue to initiate the behaviors? Always!  We can engineer the trigger to modify motivation and/or ability.  It’s essential to recognize that people are different.  Some folks are motivated by a sense of justice, some by fear, others by desire for esteem from the crowd.

Researching your target population is always required.  I recently read about a behavior change experiment to get people to eat more fruits and vegetables.  Grocery store carts were equipped with a strip of tape across the top of the basket half way between the front and the back.  Shoppers were encouraged to place all the produce in front of the tape and everything else behind it.  Sales of fruit and vegetables shot up dramatically!

Behavior change=motivation+ability+a trigger.  More on this to come.

Robert Rowell,

Guest Blogger

http://www.indeed.com/p/index.php?pid=7080813311402333

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February 22, 2010 by Sandra Rogers.

This morning I remembered that I was much slimmer when I was really broke.  This was due to the cost-saving necessity of not driving the car to save on gas expenses.  Hence, I used to walk to the local grocery store, library, and eateries.  If it was raining, I’d put on a raincoat.   When you have to carry everything home, it becomes like a diet regimen of mental and physical exercise that makes you think about your purchases.  To be specific, you learn to purchase the lighter weight and low cost items like fruit and vegetables.  You could try using a backpack; however, I found that the items, like cans and boxes, poke you in the back the whole walk home.  Luckily, grocers provide those nice, sturdy, eco-friendly bags, so you can save the planet and your back at the same time.  I remember when I came home from the Peace Corps in 1988 and used my backpack instead of the plastic grocery bags.  The cashier snidely commented, “What are you trying to do? Save the world?”  Nowadays, everyone at least tries to save the planet.

I used to have paniers, a saddle bag for bicycles, to take the groceries home.  You’ll need a good lock to keep it safe, too!   It’s essential to have a good working bike in order to use it for transportation and quick maneuvering in large cities.  Unfortunately, some cities are not very cyclist-friendly, as they don’t provide bike lanes or advisory signs. Once I had a parked car open their door on me when I was cycling past; I responded quickly and somehow avoided hurting myself.  When I lived in Los Angeles,  I used to bicycle from UCLA to Santa Monica Beach for exercise.  I’d cut through the Veteran’s Administration buildings near the 405 Freeway and then take a coffee break  at the halfway point.  The coffee break was a real splurge on my broke diet, but it made it taste all the better!  After resting, I’d continue to the beach which was downhill from there.  After relaxing at the beach, it was all up hill to get back home.  I was able to go 12-14 miles on bike with little difficulty because I took breaks.

Furthermore, the broke diet includes using coupons and looking at each high-priced item on your grocery bill to decide if you really need to purchase it next time.  Since coupons are for specific brands, you have to shop/eat different than your normal activity.  I used to be embarrassed to use coupons and would go to the store at odd hours when I thought no one would be shopping.  I usually buy the lower priced store brand than the popular “name” brand products.  After I saw a popular TV comedian using coupons in the check-out line at a grocery store, I had to laugh at myself.  This was when I lived in LA.  It reminded me of the time I saw Johnny Cash shopping at Kmart in Nashville (I used to live there, too).  Saving money with coupons is smart, so don’t let it get you down. I use coupons and customer reward cards whenever I can.

Lastly, the  broke diet includes not overeating.  Basically, because you can’t afford it, but also because it’s too depressing to have nothing in the fridge or on the shelves.  Every time I go to my mother’s house to look in the fridge, I think she doesn’t have anything.  She’s a senior citizen who receives Social Security benefits.  When I study the contents of her fridge to make a grocery list, I realize she has it all right there: cheese, eggs, milk, juice, yogurt, bread and butter.  I usually just buy her a bottle of wine, since I know that it’s not a regular part of her broke diet.  My mother’s a vegetarian and generally eats beans and rice along with various canned vegetables.  I’ve gone vegan before due to the broke diet.  Luckily, I had a sibling invite me over for a meat dish and all the leftovers that I wanted.  I realize that many of you may not have that kind of support.  I wish you success on your broke diet and exercise and hope that you find the support that you need during your job hunt.

Your blogger,

Sandra Annette Rogers
Look for jobs: http://www.indeed.com/p/index.php?pid=7080813311402333

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