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What Does A 'Community Organizer" Do?
Sep. 10th, 2008 06:21 amBefore I answer the question posed in the title, a little background. I am past president of the Rotary Club of Darien IL. My group of about 30 members raised last year $45,000 for charity, and the membership personally donated approximately $18,000 for the Rotary Foundation. (That number puts us in the top 100 clubs in the world on a per-capita basis for Foundation giving). So we know charity.
Darien is a city in DuPage county, one of the wealthiest counties in the country. You wouldn't think we have poor people here.
We do. One charitable organization my group helps fund is the Humanitarian Service Project. Through this group, we have "adopted" two senior citizens, providing bulk food, and provide birthday parties for nine children (at $54 each) in Darien. Yes, Virginia, there are poor people in Darien. The Humanitarian Service Project has a budget of $1.4 million, 90% of which comes from private donors.
Another group I just learned about is the People's Resource Center. Based in Wheaton, the DuPage county seat, this organization has a $2 million budget (89% private donation) and uses 860 volunteers to provide job training, food and rent assistance to over 22,000 individuals.
What do both these organizations have in common? Well, they are ran by "community organizers." Somebody has to wrangle volunteers, answer the phone, apply for grants and file taxes (yes, Virginia, non-profits file tax returns too). That's what a community organizer does.
Obama was a community organizer working for the Catholic church in the mid-1980s. He was, I dare say, doing the Lord's work (see Matthew 25 verse 34-45). I make no claim that being a community organizer is qualification for President. But how can one call oneself a Christian and mock the entire profession?
Darien is a city in DuPage county, one of the wealthiest counties in the country. You wouldn't think we have poor people here.
We do. One charitable organization my group helps fund is the Humanitarian Service Project. Through this group, we have "adopted" two senior citizens, providing bulk food, and provide birthday parties for nine children (at $54 each) in Darien. Yes, Virginia, there are poor people in Darien. The Humanitarian Service Project has a budget of $1.4 million, 90% of which comes from private donors.
Another group I just learned about is the People's Resource Center. Based in Wheaton, the DuPage county seat, this organization has a $2 million budget (89% private donation) and uses 860 volunteers to provide job training, food and rent assistance to over 22,000 individuals.
What do both these organizations have in common? Well, they are ran by "community organizers." Somebody has to wrangle volunteers, answer the phone, apply for grants and file taxes (yes, Virginia, non-profits file tax returns too). That's what a community organizer does.
Obama was a community organizer working for the Catholic church in the mid-1980s. He was, I dare say, doing the Lord's work (see Matthew 25 verse 34-45). I make no claim that being a community organizer is qualification for President. But how can one call oneself a Christian and mock the entire profession?
