March Volunteer Spotlight: Blessing Taclobao
Blessing Taclobao
What motivates you to volunteer? Partly the drive to spend my time in productive ways, partly the knowledge that this doesn't have to be solitary or self-centered, and partly the opportunities to both expand my existing skillset and interact with a wide variety of people.
Why ACR?I chose ACR because I knew I could put my skills to work right away: identifying & pricing art supplies, coming up with new possible ways to utilize them, organizing & maintaining our available space, and of course doing some literal heavy lifting. Beyond that, the fact that ACR ensures that art supplies remain easily accessible to Austin's creative community really struck a chord with me and I felt that contributing to this undertaking was the right thing to do.
How long have you volunteered with ACR?I've only been here since last September, but these six months have already been fantastic and I look forward to many more with ACR!
Are you more into the arts aspect of ACR or the conservation aspect and why?Definitely the arts side, if only because I have significantly more hands-on experience with making art. That being said, the more I learn about the finer workings of ACR's conservation efforts, the more fascinating that side becomes to me. Seemingly everything can be diverted from the landfill one way or another, e.g. utilizing scrap fabric for insulation or creating closed supply chains with schools so that teachers have a place to obtain or donate supplies.
Where else have you/do you volunteer? I don't currently volunteer anywhere else, but I spent a few summers volunteering at the education department & butterfly garden at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX. Like at ACR, there was never a shortage of tasks to take care of; unlike at ACR, most of those tasks involved running from one side of the zoo to another and/or getting very messy very quickly.
What do you enjoy the most out of volunteering for ACR? I love hearing what our customers plan to do with the supplies they buy, because their answers vary so widely and it's great to watch them light up when they talk about their projects.
Do you have any interesting or funny stories about something that happened while you were volunteering at ACR?
On the second day of orientation, I was sorting through a box of loose rocks and found one that looked like a chunk of Himalayan rock salt. I licked it to be sure, only to find that it was actually a piece of candy that had found its way into the box.
Thanks for all you do to help ACR Blessing!