Fulfilled. Reverend Angela asks us each to describe how we feel in one word. The first five start with the letter F, like fun, fresh. 70 cabbages cut, 1250 boxes built, 196 lunches served Somewhere around 250 Turkey and cheddar sandwiches constructed. Rejuvenated, insightful. Denise describes the demographics. Elizabeth says this work was physically meditative like data is mentally. Athena is a box wizard. At Water Song for lunch, Alison tells us about the meaning Of the year of the wood snake It will be chaotic, the thermometer reads burn it to the ground It is time for the skin to shed It is a time for pulling back and waiting for the right time to strike. Caitlin says we must move forward. We are between potlucking and politicking at our table filled with glorious abundance That makes me feel like my grandmothers are trying to satiate me for a lifetime That I have to be full until the next time I visit China Like a snake can go months without eating We must move forward. Alison passes out gilded tomato-red envelopes to those she is an elder to. She teaches us that we eat dumplings on new years because they're in the shape of gold crown-boats, the way the Chinese used to store it We store our goodwill in the bellies of our families It's pouring out, and Patrick takes me and my bike in his girlfriend's truck He knows my next door neighbor Ted! They used to be neighbors We used to all be neighbors once, we will one day all be neighbors again
The Franciscan Center we volunteered at. They do such incredible work! Alongside feeding people who come in, they deliver food, they partner with banks to sign people up for bank accounts (to transition away from high-fee check cashing services), they have a culinary training program, and much more! Volunteer here. Let me know if you want to go with me sometime :)
Written with my Baltimore Poetry group, with a word bank prompt! If you want to join, let me know!
CORI, the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation, is a partnership with the CDC to improve develops, tests, and implements forward-thinking outbreak analytic solutions for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and local health departments, and other decision-makers across the country.
Our mission is to improve the speed, accuracy, and use of data and analytics during public health emergencies.
Some cool things I get to do with them:
Work with TV meteorologists to get disease graphs on the weather forecasts!
Research how to apply lessons from High Reliability Organizations to improve outbreak response
My colleagues also do incredible work on things like:
Creating risk assessments for things like bird flu (H5N1) and Mpox
Creating strategies and risk assessments for Measles outbreaks
Working with Governors to aid in decision making during outbreaks
This feels like a LinkedIn post now, oops!