Sometimes it just feels good to do something just because you want to & not just because you're getting paid to do so. Volunteering to help those less fortunate then you or to help a cause that yo truly believe in can be very rewarding in it's own right. In an act of great selflessness I recently volunteered my time & efforts to bring some joy to others in these trying times. I choose something I really believe in & that would be of great benefit to my fellow man/woman. I volunteered with my cousin at the NY Chocolate Show. Our duties included
Maintaining Chocolate Lounge: We made sure tables were clean, lines for espresso orderly, & crowd control. We also sampled espresso, chocolate & flirted with girls taking a break from eating chocolate. Difficult & challenging, but someone had to do it.
Line Crowd Control: The lines for the Chocolate show even with advanced ticket purchase were very long as were the lines for fellow chocoholics who tried to get in without advance purchase(not a a good idea...you could wait hours if you get in at all). In an effort to soothe the masses samples of chocolates were given out to those waiting on line. Of course as luck would have it they ran out of chocolate samples. Thus, my cousin, our fellow volunteer Faye & I got to give out chocolate hand lotion samples. We were given some lines to use to promote the product & the show. We "somewhat"improvised. I was amazed at how people not only on line but walking by went for the samples. My cousin was practially attacked when he went out on 6th Avenue. Regardless we held strong & did our part to offer those waiting some relief.
Chocolate Show Consultation: Since we were wearing Volunteer Badges...everyone thought we had all the answers to everything about the show. We had some.
After our shift was up we were able to walk the show (while continuing to consult) & sample the various vendors. It was good...but the amount of vendors was a little lighter then usual. One of the highlights was getting to sit in on one of Vikings (shameless plug) cooking/tasting exhibitions. We got to sit in on the Baker Eric Wolitzky of Baked in Red Hook Brooklyn (shameless plug). He's been a contestant on Top Chef Just Desserts.He is a "Baker...not a chef" who happens to be both very good & pretty entertaining. He made a Chocolate Holiday Spice Bundt Cake. We all got a mini bundt sample & it was even better then it sounds.
I went on to purchase Yuca Citrus Chocolates from Payard & Peppermint Bark & Chocolate Espresso Bark from 2Chicks(even more shameless plugging)
All in all the sacrifice of my time & efforts were greatly rewarded & I felt great after with the satisfaction of helping others, supporting a cause I believe in, & stuffing my face with free awesome chocolate.
Shout-out to my cousin's friend Sarah for giving us the opportunity to volunteer & show our support for the Chocolate industry & the joy it brings to others worldwide.
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