Skip to content
Carmen K. Sisson
Skip to content
  • Published Favorites
  • Recent Bylines
  • Content Marketing
  • Photography
  • About
  • Clients
  • Email Me
Home Posts tagged "volunteerism"

Tag: volunteerism

Raising men, helping others with free lawn care

The two brothers stand in the carport in Huntsville, Ala., and stare up at the cloudy sky, scuffing their shoes against the concrete and frowning. If it rains, they won’t be able to cut grass. A black SUV pulls into the driveway, and their frowns turn to smiles as they rush to greet the man inside — Rodney Smith Jr., whose grin is even bigger than theirs.

Continue reading

Carmen Sisson August 9, 2018 October 14, 2018Recent Bylines Alabama, children, Christian Science Monitor, Huntsville, mentors, Raising Men Lawn Care Service, Rodney Smith, volunteerism 1

Are we asking too much of Houston’s volunteers?

Susan Keays stands at the water’s edge and shades her eyes to better see an approaching boat. As she holds her cellphone, verifying an address, she quickly counts heads. One volunteer is missing. This morning, they were strangers. Now, they are a sort of family. She is on Memorial Boulevard, where kayaks and bass boats bob in a river that shouldn’t be. At first, she came to the edge of the flood to save horses. She is staying to save people.

Continue reading

Carmen Sisson September 1, 2017 March 24, 2018Recent Bylines Christian Science Monitor, disaster, disaster response, flood, Houston, hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Texas, volunteerism 1

Lessons from BP oil spill: Tap the power of the people

The moment Gulfport, Miss., resident Megan Jordan feared has arrived. The viscous onslaught of crude is no longer an abstract horror belonging to Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. The first globules of oil have slipped through the Mississippi Sound and washed ashore in nearby Ocean Springs. For Ms. Jordan and her neighbors, this isn’t just any beach – it’s the keeper of memories, the provenance of dreams. The destruction is hard to bear. Their passion, properly channeled, could become a crucial element in future oil spill defense.

Continue reading

Carmen Sisson July 10, 2010 August 16, 2014Recent Bylines BP, Christian Science Monitor, Deepwater Horizon, environment, Gulfport, Mississippi, oil spill, oilspill, volunteerism

Fire chief risked jail to fight oil spill

In the end, Magnolia Springs did not need BP or Mr. Obama or the governor in Montgomery. It needed the grit and determination of the people themselves – people like Hinton, who says he will stand chest-deep in the waters of the bay, linked arm in arm with his neighbors, if that’s what it takes to stop the encroaching oil from despoiling the sublime latticework of bogs and bayous that he calls home.

Continue reading

Carmen Sisson June 15, 2010 August 16, 2014Published Favorites, Recent Bylines Alabama, BP, Deepwater Horizon, environmentalism, fire department, Gulf, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Jamie Hinton, Magnolia Springs, oil spill, oilspill, volunteerism 2

Post-Katrina charity starts with a home

It’s the middle of nowhere and the hour is nothing, a sliver of time dutifully noted by the alarm clock’s efficient blue glow. It’s surprisingly cold here in Pearlington, and the volunteers burrow more deeply into their bunks, grateful for the woolen blankets that stave off the chill. In the darkness, shadows rise and fall, punctuated by soft groans as worn bedsprings do what they can to help tired shoulders. This isn’t the Four Seasons, but as far as volunteer camps go, this wooden bunkhouse is luxury accommodations, a home away from home. The scrape of clay-caked Timberlands on the bunkhouse floor announces the latest arrivals – a father-son team from Dansville, N.Y., here to spend a week building houses with Locklin’s group. Next week, fresh volunteers will arrive, some armed with little more than goodwill.

Continue reading

Carmen Sisson March 27, 2007 October 14, 2018Recent Bylines Christian Science Monitor, disaster, Good Samaritans, hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi, Pearlington, volunteerism 1
  • Twitter LinkedIn GooglePlus Flickr Instagram
  • Recent Posts

    • For historic Mississippi church, a day of Thanksgiving
    • Mexico Beach fights despair with hope after Hurricane Michael
    • Mexico Beach residents still struggling after Hurricane Michael
    • After tornado, Alabamians lean on one another
    • Senate runoff brings Mississippi’s painful past to the fore
    • In Florida, resilience battles uncertain ability to rebuild
    • Back to school in Texas a year after Hurricane Harvey
    • Raising men, helping others with free lawn care
    • Alabama first grader becomes bestselling author
    • Teens’ march to honor King became a deeper journey
  • Tags

    African-American Alabama children Christian Science Monitor Civil Rights Columbus content marketing disaster Disaster News Network disaster response economy education fire flood Florida football Houston hurricane Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Katrina inspiration Louisiana Mack Trucks Memphis military Mississippi New Orleans offbeat politics racism Randall-Reilly religion Selma South Southern Baptist Disaster Relief sports Tennessee Texas The Commercial Dispatch TIME tornado truckers trucking industry volunteerism weather
  • Archives

  • Find Me Elsewhere

    • Cloudybright
    • Goodreads
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Photoshelter
    • Twitter
All images and text Copyright 2000-2023 Carmen K. Sisson/Cloudybright.
Twitter LinkedIn GooglePlus Flickr Instagram
Powered by Tempera & WordPress.