Volunteering is the Mother of Invention

I think volunteerism is one of the ways in which photographers can have the greatest impact on their community, surroundings and audience. A couple years ago, I volunteered my buddening event photography skills in support of a fundraising gala hosted by Action Africa, a local non-profit that was closely associated with a friend of mine. The event took place in a perfect location overlooking Washington, DC and a number of friends were in attendance so it was a pretty great night.

Like a number of non-profits and NGOs working in Africa, Action Africa serves the rural populations of Sierra Leone and Nigeria in a variety of ways, including facilitating the delivery of medical and school supplies, provision of micro-loans for small enterprises, sponsoring students, etc. But it was throughout the dinner that I learned of what differentiates Action Africa from a number of other organizations that conduct similar work; Action Africa employs a number of key representatives on the ground level of the communities that are served by its work who ensure that the donated goods reach their intended recipients.

All too often one hears of a donation from the international community going awry as shipments get picked away and thwarted by clandestine power elements along the journey to those in need. The fact that Action Africa guides the delivery of items throughout their entire journey until they have successfully reached their intended destination struck me as a key advantage over other organizations.

Fast forward to the present day and you will find me well into my second year as a volunteer member of the organization's Board of Directors. Since then I have had the chance to be a part of some major initiatives, including the collection of two 40ft containers worth of emergency medical supplies that are intended for the front lines of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Normally, Action Africa works as an intermediary between large fundraising organizations and their final destinations; helping to guide those large scale deliveries to their intended destinations. But these last two containers were different.

Spurred on by the nature of the outbreak and the lack of adequate supplies to somehow curb the outbreak in Sierra Leone, Action Africa decided to quickly mobilize and utilize its own network to collect emergency medical supplies and deliver them directly to those working in Sierra Leone on the front lines of the outbreak.

I could not believe the amount of support we received for these efforts. Local businesses sponsored fundraisers, a friend of mine cut off his hair to generate money and local comedian Ol Mike Brown donated a portion of the proceeds raised from a recent comedy show to our efforts.  

Marc Klein, chopping his locks for the cause 

Action Africa is now focusing a majority of its efforts on combatting the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and I have the chance to work very closely on a new campaign that supports these efforts. This project involves a potentially game-changing technology and is intended to serve the doctors and medical practitioners that have volunteered to fight this dangerous outbreak head on. I will be making a number of announcements about these efforts in the very near future, but in the meantime check out a page dedicated to Action Africa's World War E.

We are also quickly approaching the date for our annual fundraising gala dubbed "A Taste of Africa" which serves as our biggest outreach event of the year. Check out some photos from last year's bash and consider volunteering for a local organization. There isn't a better way to change your own life.