ProjectOKC was founded July 23, 2008 in the dumpy back room of Sauced in the Paseo. What started as a way to volunteer as family grew into something really fun and unique in Oklahoma City. Soon, our weekly meetings were ten strong and we plotted and planned great events that would love and serve everyone from kids to seniors. As the months passed our numbers increased, so much so that we needed some way to track who was going where and when… www.ProjectOKC.com (the website) was born.

Fast-forward to April 7, 2011. We’ve held nearly 200 volunteer events, plugged over 400 people into acts of service, built up a mailing list and social media following of several thousand people. It’s been fun! BUT…

It’s time to call ProjectOKC quits. You see, ProjectOKC works great as a small group of people volunteering together, eating dinner together, holding each other accountable for missed events or not pulling your weight. As a pretty large group of people though, it just doesn’t do the trick. Many in the group say right off the bat that they’ll volunteer 2+ times per month (it’s a question on the admission form). In reality, a hand full do all the work. Sadly, a lot of the times, I’m the hand full and I’m tired.

Let me explain it like this: You suggest an idea, I put in the legwork to make the idea happen, you never show up to volunteer because it isn’t convenient to you. Understood, but it’s really never convenient. There have been countless hours planning events, filling event slots, committing the volunteers to the other organizations we work with, only to have more than half of the group not show after they’d already RSVP’d. This put strain on me because we’d COMMITTED and now it puts strain on the non-profit we were helping because they were counting on us.

There are too many people who are ProjectOKC volunteers in name and not action, I’m not interested in being a cool organization in OKC, I’m interested in results. I’ve come to the conclusion that ProjectOKC keeps me from  accomplishing the GOOD we need to see happen in our city. It’s time to grow small. It’s time to tackle issues I’m passionate about and not waste time dealing with the administrative mess that ProjectOKC can be.

For all of you who volunteered through ProjectOKC, THANK YOU! This has been a fun ride, a learning experience, given me a leadership platform in our city, and has connected me with really amazing people. The GOOD isn’t stopping, just gonna cut some strings that have been back holding some pretty cool stuff.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

Am I not going to DO GOOD anymore? Don’t be ridiculous, now I’ll be able to put time towards projects I have a lot of energy for, specifically, The Mentoring Project, OKC Beautiful, Grace Living Center, The Tapestry Project, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, and Frontline Church.

What about projects already on the calendar? Keep your commitments, we’re going to finish out the month of April strong!

How much longer will the website be up? May 1, 2011 ProjectOKC.com will be taken down and all names will be purged from the website’s database.

Am I mad? No, I’m not… Emotional is probably a better word. I think this concept is pretty cool there just isn’t any accountability once the group grows bigger than your circle of friends and family.

Is the name ProjectOKC for sale? Hmmm, how much we talking about… Nah, just kidding, it’s not. I’ll keep the domain so no one buys it up and directs it to websites that post pictures of people’s naughty bits though.

I hope you find great organizations to give your time a resources to, I know I’ve found quite a few. Now get out there and love on someone!