(Part 2) Best volunteer work books according to redditors

Congratulations, and thank you for giving back to the BSA.
My recommendations:

• Show up as often as possible, in uniform
  
• Learn to "step back and let the scouts fail" so they can learn to succeed. (This is really a much harder lesson to learn than it seems)
  
• Get your BSA training. (It's honestly not all that great training, but it's a great opportunity to meet and talk with other leaders)
  
• Go to roundtables/district meetings (again, to talk to other leaders)
  
• Read "The Scoutmaster's Other Handbook."
  
• Listen to Clarke Green's podcast.
  
• Consider WoodBadge in about a year or so (after you've gotten used to the leadership position).

This is a great book about the WW2 canteen:

amazon.com/Once-Upon-Town-Miracle-Canteen/dp/006008197X?sa-no-redirect=1

Yes it does, if enough people care and/or important people care.

There are a lot of businesses that have put a lot of effort recently into environmental sustainability since it's a "popular" thing to do. It's popular precisely because people care.

If you go through your whole life with a defeatist attitude like that, then you're right, you'll never make a difference.

I highly recommend this book if you're interested in understanding what complexity theory (a.k.a. chaos theory) says about individuals enacting change in society.

!!!!!

Well, if it's a local issue, there is an elaborate, but thin, set of skills that are required to pull this off. I was confused at first, because I thought you were referring to a generic "national" issue, which is, while important, totally off-the-table. (But then again, this is /r Lostgen)

The primary thing I would consider is

• Who is the decision maker that is needed to be persuaded?
  
• What would it take for that person to be persuaded?
  
• ...and if the person won't negotiate, then what kind of "stick" can you poke at him to persuade him.
  
  I have as much expectations about Americans in politics as do Children in politics, so people get "shocked" when it is stated openly.
  
  But one of the things to consider is that if a party isn't coming to the table to negotiate, that nonviolent repercussions are necessary to encourage negotiation.
  
  For instance, doing the stuff of the Civil Rights movement in 1963 would get you locked up in 2015 still, but we encourage the former while condemning the latter.
  
  Momentum is useless; contact information is what is valuable. Everytime you get a phone number, consider that a follower + 3-7 sympathizers.
  
  If people show up at a meeting, and are enthused, that means nothing to me, other then I picked a good place to do a speech.
  
  But if I have contact information....
  
  ...let me put it this way. I worked in DC for a bit, and it takes about ~12 dedicated people to control a district of 550,000 people. These people then network with networks, until they are capable of getting the congressman elected.
  
  Furthermore, it doesn't take a tremendous amount of work to pull this off, but again, the average american isn't even CAPABLE of admitting the need for leadership, so the Dem and Reps are "the one eyed leading the blind."
  
  There are so many question marks, my mind is racing, but I would think of it this way.
  
  
• Build a solid core of "organizers."
  
• Have those organizers create a network between "interest groups"
  
• Find a clear objective with a clear "opposition" to that goal, and get them to agree to that demand.
  
  Fuck. If you do those three things at a larger and larger scope, you form an entire political appartus, and get a footnote in history.
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Building-Powerful-Community-Organizations-Personal/dp/0977151808
  
  Get this book. I wish I had known you were referring to local issues, then I would have given an entirely different set of answers. "Protesting" means something different then Organizing.

These:

Citric Acid - Put a teaspoon in your dishwasher and your glasses will be bright and sparkly.

A Roku - Cut the cable bill and stream Amazon.

This Book - Simple and to the point. Follow them and you will achieve more

Flashlight - Everyone needs a good one

This Book - so you stop driving 80 in your neighborhood

This Book - Because I think you will like it based on a comment or two of yours

And buy a $79 Amazon Prime subscription so you get free streaming content for your Roku and free two day shipping for the rest.

Anything left over? Buy your sister something.

I would recommend researching community organizing strategies. I recommend this book by Linda Stout as well as this one to develop a foundational understanding of what is necessary to launch a successful campaign. You also want to be sure that you don't become competitive with other groups advocating for the same goal but develop complementary strategies.

It was the NAACP that "chose" Rosa. They basically told her what to do and when to do it. I learned about this in one of my diversity courses in college. It is explained nice nicely in a book called Soul of a Citizen

Check out All You Need Is Love by Elizabeth Cobbs-Hoffman. It is a decent history of the Peace Corps and gives a fair representation of what they're trying to do and how well they've done it from their inception to the present.

travel
no money? volunteer

It sounds like there are a couple issues here - the disturbing dream itself, and maybe some more general worries that the dream represents.

For dealing with the dream itself, have him try thinking about what he WANTS to dream about right before he goes to sleep. The more he worries about this dream coming back, the more likely it is to come back; but the more he can replace it with another mental image, the more likely it is that will start showing up in his dreams instead.

If he's worried about these issues in the real world as well, it might help to remind him of all the good people out there working to make things better - and that he can be part of the solution too. He might enjoy some books like Heroes of the Environment and Kids Who Are Changing the World, which feature people and their ideas that are making a difference; books like Be a Changemaker and The Teen Guide to Global Action might help him think about how he could get involved in a cause he cares about. Remind him that he has unique talents to contribute to the world, and that he's not alone - there are millions of good people working every day to make the world a better place. The media shows us all the bad things happening in the world, but for every bad thing there are millions of ordinary, every-day good things happening that don't make the news. (Might check out this link for tips about discussing world events in the news too). I think the goal is to empower him to feel like he's part of a huge team of people around the world working to solve these problems - he's not alone in his fears and concerns, and it's not hopeless.

Since you mentioned in a comment that he was reading up on strategies to help deal with emotions, I'll recommend What to do When You're Scared or Worried. You might also encourage him to try some mindfulness exercises, which would be helpful both during the day and when he's going to sleep.