Following Council Member Darden Rice for #NationalVolunteerWeek

Councilwoman Darden Rice (St. Pete, District 4) is taking a holistic approach to governing during National Volunteer Week.  She’s spending the week volunteering at a different organization every day to see “see first-hand the impact of public policy decisions” at the city level. Rice was inspired by a friend on the Cincinnati City Council, who undertook a similar project.

It’s something, Rice says, she’d been meaning to do for a long time.

“Last year was so crazy with my work as chair [of the City Council] and running for reelection,” said Rice, “It takes a lot of planning and scheduling, but I’ve always wanted to do it, so I’m glad I did.” The Councilwoman says this is something she will likely continue to do in the future, the next in six months. Rice specifically chose to focus on locally based non-profit efforts, to give them a spotlight, something they don’t often get in the shadow of their larger neighboring organizations like United Way or Habitat for Humanity.

The role of volunteerism in a city has everything to do with our strong social fabric, spirit of a community, & our resiliency. Capital in the form of money certainly helps & is absolutely necessary, but what about social capital, the human factor? #NationalVolunteerWeek

— Darden Rice (@DardenRice) April 16, 2018

Rice started her week at Metro Wellness & Community Center, whose mission is to end HIV in Tampa Bay. She spent the day working with staff and volunteers to understand what they do, who they serve, and how they serve. Like many issues related to health equity, HIV prevention involves many facets, including transportation, housing, and poverty.

In just the first two days, Rice has learned and shared a few pieces of wisdom that she gathered as well. Rice considers herself “plugged in” to the LGBT community, yet she was unaware of the innovations in HIV prevention, she said. Piloted for reducing contamination of first responders, the drug TRUVADA can greatly reduce the risk of HIV infection, if taken within 72 hours of the possible exposure.

So far in her ventures, she’s asked everyone from volunteer staffers to CEO’s the same question, which she took to Twitter to share.

I asked several staffers at @MetroTampaBay if they had a magic wand, what is one thing they wish the public knew more about their work. They all answered the same: prevention HIV meds are readily available & affordable.Also,if exposed, start a 30 day pill treatment w/in 72 hours pic.twitter.com/SiqQ7pqKFF

— Darden Rice (@DardenRice) April 17, 2018

To find our more about National Volunteer Week, visit their website. The Catalyst will be following Council member Rice’s journey this week, with more updates as the story develops.