Last week’s post was all about checking your privilege, but here’s a fun way to do it with a quiz: http://www.checkmyprivilege.com/
All you have to do is press “Check My Privilege!” and you start a short quiz to see how privileged you really are. I got an 85 out of 100 for how privileged I am, which is not surprising. One of the only reasons why I probably didn’t get closer to 100 is that I’m a female and am not particularly rich. So what can I do with this information? Help people who aren’t as privileged.
This is not a translation for look down to people who are less privileged OR look up to people who are more privileged. It’s more of a: Maybe you have privilege, maybe you don’t, but what are you going to do with this information? MAKE CHANGE. Ask questions like: Why are there some people who are more privileged than others? What are the commonalities between these people who are more privileged?
I think the most important question we can ask is: How can we change our system in America so that there aren’t people who are so much more privileged than others, or so that everyone has an equal opportunity of privilege when it comes to money, career path, education, living situation, and access to basic human needs.
Some ways to start helping is to get involved with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, which I have dedicated much of my life as a teenager and now as an adult (who’s ever really an adult anyway?): volunteering (building), fundraising, advocating, and educating. If you’d like to start volunteering in NYC, visit their website here: https://habitatnyc.org/ or email the Macaulay for Habitat Chapter, which is also present on Queens College Campus at [email protected]!
Here’s where you can get started: https://www.newyorkcares.org/volunteer/. This link will set you up an account with New York Cares, which will give you a list of different places you can volunteer with whatever catches your eye: they are affiliated with over 1,600 different organizations throughout all five boroughs.
Some other places you can get started:
- Project Sunshine helps families and children in need who have medical issues ranging from physical to emotional to mental. Check them out here: http://www.projectsunshine.org/
- SOS Outreach helps children, teens, and young adults with finding ways to lead happy and healthy lives: all about connecting mental, physical, and emotional health. Check them out here: http://sosoutreach.org/
- Meals on Wheels drives around different parts of NYC in order to feed the homeless and those incapable of making their own food or getting their own food, with prepared meals. Check them out here: https://meals-on-wheels.com/
- If you’re thinking more long term, look into the one to two-year long programs with Americorps and/or Peace Corps.
Good luck in your travels in life, and remember: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” -Mahatma Gandhi
