Pat's volunteer experience

A big thanks to Pat, a 2 Places employee for sharing his experience from our company-wide annual volunteer day:

As you know, our company's volunteer day theme this year was to assist senior citizens.  Therefore, on Friday, September 23, 2011 I volunteered my time and services to SAGE Eldercare in Summit, New Jersey.  Please see the attached document that provides concise text of what this organization is all about.

My efforts were dividing into two parts.  In the morning I assisted Daniel, an experienced driver using his own car, to provide hot lunch to fifteen seniors in the nearby town of Springfield, NJ.  These people are either shut ins, low income or unable to prepare meals for themselves.  For most of  them, the person delivering lunch to their home is the only human that they will interact with during that day.  The vast majority are extremely appreciative of the efforts of the people bringing healthy meals to them on a daily basis. It was an eye opening experience as it showed me how many people that are living near me who require food assistance.

In the afternoon I worked with Priscilla at SAGE's facility to create organized food bins to store a large amount of food that the organization recently received from the general public after Hurricane Irene. This mundane project had us sort cans, bags and packages of food that had been stored helter skelter in a very unorganized manner.  Our completed effort made the director of volunteering very happy.  She now has an inventory of easy to access food that her group can quickly utilize for whatever purpose they need it for. 

I left SAGE feeling very good that day because I saw how my efforts provided a small, yet positive, impact on the lives of a few older citizens who need others to lend a hand on a regular basis.

I look forward to next year's volunteer day.  Thanks for continuing this annual event that the staff of 2 Places can participate in.

Pat M

Lessons From The Masters

My first job was working at a hair salon for blue-haired old ladies when I was 14 years old.  My job included washing and folding towels, helping customers in from their cars, and carefully covering their ears and hairline with a protective layer of cotton before placing them under a dryer to roast.  Most people would think that spending the summer surrounded by women older than my grandmother while my friends were spending endless days lounging by the pool talking about boys would be sheer torture, but not me.  I found these women fascinating!  After all, they had lived! Tales of the Great Depression, Kennedy’s assassination, and the Civil Rights movement were spinning in my head every day. 

But it was more than that. I read about all of these landmark events in history class.  The real stories were about how these monumental events shaped their everyday lives.  I learned of victory gardens and the personal decisions to treat people with dignity in the face of danger and alienation.  I saw how someone who did without as a child appreciates all that she has some 50+ years later and is quick to share with others as others had done with her.  I saw in the eyes of these women that a dream doesn’t die with an individual person but lives within all of us.  I saw passion, resilience, conviction, and a quiet strength.  I saw teachers who were willing to accept me as their pupil and I consider myself fortunate to have had one short summer to learn from these masters.

Now that 2 Places At 1 Time, Inc. is celebrating its 20-year anniversary, I would like to pay homage to the lessons learned from the past.  To do so, I propose that the beneficiary of our 2 Places Day of Volunteerism is the aging community.  Every 2 Places employee will spend the day “giving back” to their local community addressing the issue of aging.  This could mean playing Bingo with seniors at a senior center, helping paint or redecorate at an assisted living community, or delivering meals and a smile to the housebound. And if we are good students, we are bound to learn a thing or two!

Families Bear the Brunt of Work-Life Unbalance

When Americans’ work-life balance is disrupted, families bear the brunt, according to the StrategyOne 2010 survey of 1,043 Americans; however, most report that family is of greatest importance to us.  Think about your day to day life.  What responsibilities do you put off when you are short on time?  Do you find yourself having to decide whether to take your car for that much needed oil change or eat lunch?  How about the common American dinner time dilemma of opting for take-out as the only means of fitting in both a meal and time to help the children with homework?  How often do you find yourself short on time….weekly or daily?  It happens to all of us.  Although there isn’t a cure, there are several small things that you can do to lessen the frequency of these time-crunched frenzies.

The first thing is to be realistic about what is really reasonable to accomplish in a given day.  Stop saying to yourself, “If only I could get my work done quicker, if I didn’t get stuck in traffic or in a line at the grocery store...”  These obstacles are out of our control and ever present in our lives.  Second, plan for the busy week ahead.  This is the very reason Rachel Ray’s new show “Cook 1 Day, Eat for 5” even exists!  If you can find a block of time, it is more efficient to shop for the entire week at once and spend 2 hours prepping the week’s ingredients.  During my 2 year olds Saturday nap, you can usually find me in the kitchen creating homemade marinades, prepping meat and chopping vegetables to be thrown into steamers or salads throughout the week.  However, the greatest time saver is to leverage your time by outsourcing the tasks that are not your core responsibilities.

It is mandatory that we free ourselves from the “super woman” guilt trip, realize that we have a finite number of hours in the day and allow ourselves to let go of the mundane tasks that others can do for us.  For example, it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure your family is fed.  However, the meal will not taste better if you personally schlep through the grocery store picking produce and succumbing to the impulse purchases of your children in tow.  Nor will your car operate better because it knows you were held hostage at the mechanic during the 60,000 mile check up.  Please outsource these tasks and spend your time where it really counts!

Andrea Arena, President

2 Places At 1 Time, Inc.

The premier corporate concierge service – simplifying the lives of millions!

www.2placesat1time.com, 877.275.2237

make time to dance

As a hard-driving entrepreneur, I’ve received the unsolicited advice to “make time to dance” more times than I can count.  It sounds so cliché – Right?  Well, as a Mom who just finished an impromptu march – complete with instruments – through the house joined by a full scale make believe marching band, I have to chalk this one up as one more lesson learned from my 2 year old.  I want to dance, sing, read and rock my little one to sleep every night.  So whether you choose to spend your leisure time playing WII, picking up chicks, lifting weights, learning another language or bungee jumping, we all have a finite amount of time and none of us seem to have enough of it!  So the question is, “What will you give up to make time for the things you value?”  I don’t suggest foregoing sleeping or eating and those close to you would prefer you not skip your personal hygiene responsibilities – like showering.  So, how about leveraging your time by outsourcing the tasks that are not your core responsibilities?  For example, if your concierge stocked your refrigerator or delivered prepared meals to your home every week, you could spend your evening doing as you wish.  Or if we researched your next vacation, you could read a book, relax with a glass of wine curled up with a “close friend”…You get the idea.  Spend your time doing what is important to you and outsource the rest!  At 2 Places At 1 Time, Inc. we are here to help give you back your leisure time!  Work hard and enjoy in 2011 – both are possible!

www.2placesat1time.com

Why we do what we do in the concierge industry

It is easy to lose sight of the “why” during the frantically busy holiday season - a season that feels like a runaway train that has veered so far off course from the original spirit of the holiday that it could not possibly reach its intended destination.  With clients articulating the “life or death” consequences of a party platter arriving to a client site at a very specific time and the urgency of obtaining that prized trinket from Tiffany’s, it is easy to forget the origin of why 2 Places At 1 Time was created.  However, amidst the hustle and bustle, short tempers and long lines we can usually find that small reminder that “in a wink of eye” puts everything into perspective.  One such moment this holiday season was the opportunity to wrap presents for the foster children of Metro Atlanta.  This opportunity to bring happiness to children during the holiday season reminded me why I took the leap of faith to start 2 Places At 1 Time over 19 years ago.  I started a corporate concierge service simply to take care of people.  Whether they are dual income families, entrepreneurs, working mothers, stressed out executives, or seniors needing a little assistance 2 Places was designed to make a significant positive impact on the daily lives of others.