Day Three of Community Fed has been productive for other people, if not for me. Honestly, aside from promoting the cause and some household chores, I slept most of the day. Today I will be making up for it by baking for a bake sale I will be holding tomorrow to benefit a food bank here in town. Embedded here, to make up for my exhaustion, are some links I found via a Twitter #furloughed search: Furloughed Feds volunteering at Capital food bank , also Donating to DC Food bank (I'm thinking this is a different one than Capital FB?), Virtual 5k for fighting blood cancers , then there is this just in volunteers doing community service in York County (Virginia, I think) and I also know that some folks in my town baked some goodies to give to the park rangers at Lake Mead National Recreation Area who are still on the job. If you know of more, please share!

Twitter is becoming more active with #furloughed comments

There are several mentions of other groups doing volunteer stuff. Just search in Twitter for #furloughed and read what comes up. It is GREAT to see other folks have the same ideas of community service while idle. Also, that search will bring up some discounts and freebies for furloughed workers. Check it out!

Day 2 of Community Fed

Today I stopped off at the local food bank to drop off a few bags and a box, but also to cheer on a fellow Community Fed who is volunteering there. Then I drove around looking at all the "Closed due to government shutdown" signs, which really started to bum me out, Man. Our NPR station had a local show doing a call-in segment on how the shutdown is affectingi people, so I called in and plugged our little movement (but failed to mention its name. No matter, make a difference to do some good, not for me). Then I stopped by the sweetest lady in all our town, over 80 with a bum hip, and just chatted for awhile. That was much more fun than picking up cigarette butts, and made her day, I think. Sure made mine! I'm noticing a lot of grumbling about various Federal agencies being shut down, and how some people are blaming the Feds still on the job for enforcing the rules. Those Feds on the job, if they aren't associated with the military, are working without a paycheck right now. They are assured of getting paid sometime in the future, while the furloughed folks are not. But, they don't know when they will get their next paycheck, and they can't apply for unemployment while waiting for it, unlike those of us at home. Man, if there is anyone to grumble at, it's not the poor sot trying to protect his or her Park while worrying about if they can feed their kid next week. Be kind to those folks, they hate the shutdown more than John Q. Public.

Map it!

I love a good map. I also love lots of data points. Add what you did and where you did it to our Googlemap! Be as specific or vague as you feel comfortable. The idea is to inspire. Share your good work here!

Day One - A Successful Start!

I have heard from people from across the country that are taking this to heart. Not overwhelming for now, but my community of friends is small. I've heard of parks, food banks, natural resources, and Girl Scouts all benefitting from Feds, both furloughed and working as essential but for no pay (at the moment). Great job! I am more proud than ever to call myself a Federal employee. We can do more, though. The more of us we have involved in this project, the greater the impact we can make. Be sure to share this blog. If you are on Facebook, share the facebook page at our Facebook page . If you tweet, tweet about your exploits with #communityfed and #furloughed . Be sure to comment here or there about what you have done to inspire others. I can't thank you all enough for getting this off to a promising start!

Keep Making a Difference

Federal employees do a lot of good in our country. We make life easier for many people, we even make life possible in some places. We build and maintain bridges, clean up superfund sites, ensure clean drinking water, deliver water to millions of acres of farmland, inspect food, provide oversight to the testing and approval of new medicines, protect awesome natural splendours and wildlife, and, yes, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, ensure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. We make a difference, and we are proud that we do. Almost 800,000 of us Federal employees sit idle today. Imagine if all of us does something for our community for just an hour a day while we remain idle. Continue to make a difference. Take a bag with you on a walk and clean up the trash as you go. Visit that housebound neighbor you've been meaning to, but just never had the time. Spend some time at the library learning sign language so you can better communicate with the deaf. Spend an hour or two in your kids' classroom. It is HARD to find volunteer opportunities for a day, a week, or however long we may be out. But we can do little things on our own. Imagine 800,000 hours a day in our communities, making a difference. Spread the word. Share this blog. Share your stories. Tweet, Facebook, Pinterest, letters to the editor, whatever. Inspire yourself, inspire others, continue making a difference.