How to Lead a Group Session, Meeting or Class with Ten Minutes of Preparation

Originally published at Am I the Only One Dancing?. Please leave any comments there.

The social service field is full of situations where you get pulled from one task and with very little notice, get asked to do another.  It is not uncommon, for example for an educational group to be scheduled, and for a crisis to keep the regular mediator from being able to lead it.
Here are some tips for how to lead a psycho-educational, therapy, or substance abuse group successfully with very little notice.

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Kicking Back at Mother Nature with Cash or Credit Card

Originally published at Am I the Only One Dancing?. Please leave any comments there.

Mother Nature sure is an ass-kicking, human-flea shrugging, vindictive, stone cold bitch sometimes, isn’t she?  She’s doing her damnedest to bring down death and destruction, but we puny humans still have the ability with our clawless, opposable-thumbed claws to reach out and help each other and keep our fellow primates standing.

I was all set to write another lecture about how we need to treat people the same in disasters, whether they’re rich or poor, friends, allies, or even enemies, but I got two paragraphs in and realized my heart wasn’t in it.

The world has been hit hard enough by disasters in the last few months that I have turned my television off because I can’t stand another moment of disaster porn, and here I was, about to inflict it on you. Sorry about that.

Instead, here are some links to places where you can donate, if you are so inclined, to areas still suffering the effects of natural disasters:

Japan:

Racialicious’s list of text-based donations

Mercy Corps donation to Japan page

Causes.com’s Red Cross donation to Japan page

Christchurch, New Zealand:

New Zealand Red Cross (looks like donations are in NZ dollars, not US dollars)

Donate Directly to the Government of New Zealand

Haiti (still in dire need of help)

Unicef Donations (music and video play at the link)

Worldvision gives you the opportunity to sponsor a child in Haiti

Around the World

Wherever natural or human made disasters exist, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is there.  They can always use your help.

Return to Walking Upstream for more,  or go to Am I the Only One Dancing? for an exploration of joyful living.