Deck the Face With Gobs of Makeup (Volunteerism Writeoff)
Written: Dec 03 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A volunteer opportunity that allows for direct interaction with recipients and lots of creative freedom!
Cons: Applying makeup is time-consuming, and can be quite warm in summer.
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| frazzledspice's Full Review: Charity Organizations |
It's 9:00 a.m. in the large, well-lighted ladies' room at the Fort Smith Holiday Inn and Convention Center. Ten girls and three adults stand before the mirrors, skillfully and not so skillfully applying makeup to their faces. Walking in with my daughter and her friend, I was surprised to be greeted by a stranger with a big red rubber nose. "It's Mrs. A!" my daughter's friend shouted. Mrs. A, their Girl Scout leader, is a natural-born clown.
There is a clowning interest group in our new hometown's Girl Scout Council, and we'd been invited to participate in a benefit Teddy Bear Breakfast with Santa. The night before, my daughter, balloon-artist extraordinaire, showed her friend the intricacies of balloon sculpture (and, once again, taught me a trick or two.)
At 7:30 that morning, we rummaged through my closet looking for big mismatched clothes for their clown ensembles. We found some Christmas sweatshirts and funny floppy hats. My daughter chose overalls and neckerchief (clowns need big pockets.) We put on our makeup, gathered some props (puppets and magic tricks) and headed out.
"This is soooooooo embarrassing!" my daughter said. (She likes making little kids happy but is sometimes concerned about meeting someone in her peer group.)
"Don't worry, we have Dad's car instead of the minivan," I told her. "And, besides, no one will recognize you."
We did get a few friendly honks along the way, but she arrived, thankfully, incognito.
Mrs. A, in her clowning debut, had a few new tricks to show us. She brought a number of toy kazoos, and kept one in her mouth at all times, sounding every bit like a Charlie Brown Christmas. The other scouts were enthralled by our magic trick (the "change bag") and took turns showing it to children waiting to see Santa.
We made our balloon animals, and even learned a new one (the dragonfly.) Suddenly it seemed a lot like Christmas, in the act of entertaining and sharing. Our preparations and rehearsals brought my daughter and I closer together. As she begins the exciting journey into adolescence, she is learning that celebrating Christmas from the giver's perspective can be even more rewarding than celebrating as a receiver.
Although we clowned at this party as part of the Girl Scouts Clowning interest group, most of my charitable clowning has been done with Clowns of America International (COAI.)
COAI is an organization whose purpose is "to share, educate, and act as a gathering place for serious minded amateurs, semiprofessionals, and professional clowns." They have local clown "alleys" throughout the country, and these alleys provide entertainment for numerous charitable events every year.
I learned about COAI in February, 1999, and signed up, along with two good friends, for an eight-week training course. We learned most of clowning's prerequisites in the sixteen-hour course, including makeup, facepainting, balloon animals, juggling, magic, puppetry, caring clown, skits, and parade walkarounds. Of course, we didn't learn them very well until we'd practiced.
We got most of our initial practice doing charity clowning--at nursing homes, parades, hospitals, school fairs, and Girl Scout camp.
One of my fondest early clowning memories was of the St. Louis Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1999. It was a beautiful day and the clowns were out in full-force. Twisty came with his unicycle, preparing to pedal his way down the entire parade route. As we walked along the sidelines, visiting with all the children, I started to feel a tremendous high. The fellowship and camaraderie with my clowning friends, the beautiful weather, the wonderful floats and balloons, and the great marching band music made it one of the best Thanksgivings I'd ever had (even though I cooked a pre-cooked turkey--a concession necessitated by the lateness of my arrival home.)
After the parade we rode a big flatbed back to our cars, and stopped at White Castle for lunch! Everyone was in high spirits, laughing and joking as they nibbled on their "belly bombs."
It was the first day that I felt like a real clown.
Every alley meeting consists of a business meeting, an educational workshop, and a calendar of events which need clowns. Clowns of America tries to provide a cadre of volunteer clowns for each charitable organization making a request. They also provide all the balloons, face paints, or equipment the clowns need to bring to the event.
Of course, Clowns of America is much more than a charitable and educational organization. It is a great networking group for people who want to make clowning a career and a wonderful way to make friends. Going to a COAI Convention (something for my "wish list") gives members the chance to see different parts of the country through a very big set of peepers.
There are several other national clowning groups bringing joy to others as volunteers. Christian Clowns spread the gospel and help worthhile charities. The Shriners, known for riding their little go-karts at parades, raise money for children's hospitals and even hold their own circus.
The Shriners only allow men to clown (thank goodness for Clowns of America, which welcomes everyone to clowning, regardless of gender, race, color, creed, or age.)
If you've ever thought about clowning, check out COAI's website at www.coai.org
Having just done a few paid gigs as a clown, I would place myself in the amateur category. I clown about once a month, and the joy lasts for days and days afterwards.
To learn more about clowning for charity, please check out:
www.com/gift-review-5BCA-B5AFF1F-38A2607B-prod1
and
http://www.epinions.com/user-review-6D64-1CCBE15-38C27C0E-prod8
This review has been written as part of the Volunteerism write-off, organized by argonut. The purpose of this write-off is to give thanks and appreciation for the organizations dedicated to helping each one of us help other people. Please take a moment out of your day today to help someone in need. For more information about this write-off and to read other reviews of fabulous organizations such as this, please check out the following url:
http://mynook.com/volunteer.html
Have a great day!
-argonut, bigjack, bgoodday, broadwaybaby, caleo, dlbrantley, francesca57, jo.com, kelly60, nobody_knows, pokemonsick, redlass, sawasdee, soxfan, teskue, thundersangel & zoey123
Recommended:
Yes
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