GROUPEES



Do you need a babysitter for an hour? Someone to take your puppy on daily walks? A run to the airport? Help with an online resume?


For some Mennonites, these everyday tasks require only a Groupee or two. The Groupee, a small, wooden token, is exchangeable for the time, labor and materials of other members of a community. A Groupee is valued at one hour of physical work.

Jonathan Moyer and other Menno­nites in Denver created the Groupee system and hope to expand it to other communities. As of September, five Groupee groups participate in the system in Denver, with several more forming in the Iowa City, Iowa, and Lancaster, Pa., areas.

Selecting the name Groupee was like naming a band. One day, Moyer’s small group sat around talking about the system when someone threw out the term Groupee, and it stuck, says Moyer.

Moyer hosts Groupee-making parties in his garage to create the wooden Groupees. The process involves wood-cutting and an official brand from bike spokes.

“The people who make the Groupees get Groupees,” says Moyer.

The Groupee bylaws outline five ways in which the system remains rooted in Anabaptism: bread, baptism, binding and loosing, fullness of Christ and Rule of Paul.

Moyer says the Groupee system further propels the productivity that already exists in the community.

“It’s a radical expression of the community’s love for each other,” he says. “We’re already so ‘in the world and of the world’ that the Groupee system is really resonating with people.”

Moyer quickly adds that their intention is not for Groupees to “supplant giving and receiving.”

“If my friend is sick, I still visit him in the hospital; if he has a baby, I make him lasagna,” he says.

However, the structured system allows for Groupee users to meet people and form new connections as well as find reliable babysitters, petsitters, housesitters and more.

“I’ll vouch for it being a pretty cool system,” says Brad Miller of Denver. “We’re spending three Groupees tonight to have someone babysit Silas. I earned these three Groupees by helping a church member water her lawn, took another church member to the airport and babysat another church member’s kid.”

Jean Kilheffer Hess attended Moyer’s seminar on the system at Pittsburgh 2011 and is beginning a group at her church, East Chestnut Street Mennonite in Lancaster, Pa.

“I hope the Groupee system becomes a natural way for us to remember each other as ready-to-help-and-be-helped people,” she says. “I’m excited that Groupee offers a loosely organized way for us to extend mutual aid to each other.”

The Groupee website facilitates the request in a way other than face-to-face. For example, if a household needs a babysitter for an hour, they will post a request stating they will offer one Groupee. Others in the system will see this request and then the household will accept one offer. Then the website notifies others that the request is filled.

Arlen Hershberger of First Mennonite in Denver says the system works well, although people with desk jobs “naturally have a headstart on responding to requests. We’re working on ways to bring greater equity to the group in terms of earning power,” Hershberger says.

Moyer is a dissertation-level doctoral candidate at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Moyer hopes this system engages more people across Mennonite Church USA. For more information, go to http://www.thegroupee.com/ or send an e-mail to Moyer at jonathanmoyer@gmail.com

By Anna Groff at http://www.themennonite.org/issues/14-10/articles/That_will_be_one_Groupee

CULTURE FOR SERVICE



Service is a fascinating concept, and it has deep roots in the military, business and religion. There is some evidence for a biological/medical/evolutionary basis for serving, especially as it relates to the contributions of group selection to Darwinian evolution and to the evolutionary basis of altruism, although controversies abound.  However, we are not going there today, but rather will note an interesting story about CU-Boulder being the number one school for providing Peace Corps volunteers:

CU-Boulder grads rank first in nation for Peace Corps volunteers - 117 undergrad alumni help campus attain record for first time
For the first time in its history, the University of Colorado Boulder is ranked No. 1 in the nation for graduates serving as Peace Corps volunteers this year with 117 undergraduate alumni currently serving around the world, the Peace Corps announced Tuesday, Feb. 1.

CU-Boulder was ranked No. 2 last year and in 2009, and is ranked the No. 5 all-time school for volunteers with 2,269 alumni who have served in the Peace Corps since it was established in 1961.

"I am delighted that our emphasis on civic engagement as part of the learning experience at CU-Boulder has resulted in service-oriented graduates contributing to their global community," said Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. "Service-learning and civically engaged graduates are a cornerstone of our Flagship 2030 strategic plan and it is gratifying for the university community to realize that our vision is becoming a reality."

The University of Florida ranked No. 2 for large schools this year with 97 undergraduate alumni serving. Also placing in the top five were the University of Michigan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Washington.

Each year, more than 13,000 CU-Boulder students participate in some form of community service, according to Peter Simons, director of CU-Boulder's Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement.

"We have traditionally attracted students who have a desire to be engaged in communities locally and overseas," Simons said. "The combination of these students and our emphasis on civic engagement really fosters an environment where a good number of our graduates join the Peace Corps every year."

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing schools annually according to the size of the student body. Large schools have more than 15,000 undergraduates, medium-size schools have between 5,001 and 15,000 undergraduates, and small schools have fewer than 5,000 undergraduates. George Washington University ranked first among medium-size schools with 72 undergraduate alumni currently serving and the University of Mary Washington ranked highest among small schools with 32 undergraduate alumni serving.

"For the last 50 years, colleges and universities across our country have been an integral part of the Peace Corps family, from developing young leaders to hosting trainings and teaching the importance of lifelong learning," said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. "In 1961, President Kennedy created the Peace Corps in response to the passion of university students, and today we continue to be inspired by the enthusiasm, dedication and creativity of the thousands of Americans now serving overseas. Colleges instill a commitment to public service among their students and share our belief that, together, we can work to make the world a better place."
When asked how CU-Boulder has prepared her for the Peace Corps, Chelsea Komlo, a senior majoring in anthropology and philosophy, said her opportunities to work as a leader and learn about leadership on campus really helped give her the confidence to tackle her next challenge as a Peace Corps volunteer. Komlo was part of the university's Presidents Leadership Class, where she learned about best leadership practices. She also held leadership roles in several other student groups and efforts on campus.

"I think being involved in several leadership roles here at CU-Boulder has made me realize how much I have to offer, and I hope to use my leadership experience when I travel to Africa," said Komlo, who recently was accepted into the Peace Corps and will travel to Africa later this year after graduation. While she hasn't been assigned to a specific country yet, she most likely will be working in health education.

Last December, CU-Boulder also became part of the Peace Corps' Master's International program, which allows volunteers to combine Peace Corps service with a master's degree program and receive credit for their Peace Corps service abroad.

Each year since 2004, CU-Boulder has ranked in the top three schools in the nation for Peace Corps volunteers – three times as the No. 2 school and four times at No. 3.

You can check out the 2009 data for all of the top schools here.  What I find particularly striking is the preponderance of secular universities in all categories including small universities and colleges.  And, there is nary a single Mennonite school in the top 25.  Is this because Mennos choose different types of service activities via MCC, EMM, Teach for America, etc., or enter service oriented careers?  Perhaps someone out there has data.