volunteer thread - what are your stories?

[Fleshdancer]

For years I keep telling myself I'm going to volunteer but I never do it...this year I'm promising myself I will. Has anyone here volunteered on a regular basis? If so, how did you choose the organization you volunteer for? How much time do you give?

I did some research and came across a volunteer matching site that seemed pretty cool. I signed up through the site to be what is called a "supporting arms volunteer" which is basically someone who helps new parents once their child is born. Since I think this is a brilliant concept, I hope I get the opportunity. The volunteer matching site gives my info to the organization and then the organization is suppose to call me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

[nini]

1. I helped out my old high school with some website design

and a couple other things.

I don't have enough spare time to devote to something on a normal basis though, so I give donations when I can.

btw.. that sounds like a great volunteer job.. to help new parents :-) gotta love those babies.

[Fleshdancer]

2. I would never think to volunteer for my high school

what a great idea.

I hope I'm given the opportunity to do this particular volunteer job. I wish I had someone to help me out when I was a new Mom...it would have made things much easier!

[Fleshdancer]

3. bitch post

this is my bitch post because most people are ignoring the volunteer thread. Not cool!

Need I remind everyone that volunteerism is not only progressive but nice and cool and fun (I hear) and worth it yadda yadda yadda????

So where the hell are the volunteers? How about the volunteer whannabees???

[Eureka]

4. Ok, but only 'cause your bitchen

I was just hanging back becuase it's probably hard for you to volunteer where I am (Au)

Pretty much all non-urban fire brigades here are volunteer organisations. So count me in, I'm a volunteer fire fighter.

[Fleshdancer]

5. lol, thanks for the reply, even if it was because I was bitchen

yep, it's too far from where I am right now, but I'm still curious as to how you got into it in the first place.

[Eureka]

9. Sort of a tradition

I've always been a 'rural dweller' and it's pretty much a tradition that us rural folk join the local brigade.

Sure, we put out fires and that sort of thing, but it's the community and friendliness of the whole thing that are the real payoff. The brigades usually service a few hundred houses, and the everyone (who joins) joins their local brigade, so it's sort of a neighbours club. A great way to meet the people who share the community, and because it involves giving up your time for nothing, it's fairly safe to assume that the people who you meet are reasonable folks.

To give you an idea of what we do.....
- if you have a pile of logs/branches etc you want to get rid of, call us, we'll burn it for you in controlled conditions as training.
- if you have a fire, give us a ring, we're good at putting them out as well as starting them.
- We get about half our funding (for trucks, equipment etc) from the govt, the rest we raise ourselves.
- and of course, the obligatory, stand around drinking beer talking shit.

It's great, and volunteering makes you feel good too. In Aus we have an organisation that registers your skills and puts you in touch with orgs that need people like you, maybe there is one in the US too.

[BigMcLargehuge]

6. I cook in a soup kitchen

one Sunday a month. The kitchen only operates on Sundays.

[southerngirlwriter]

7. The most rewarding thing you can do is get involved in the life

of an underprivileged child. Kids like one I know (and sadly, there are millions of them) who see their one parent for fifteen minutes a day because Mom has to take the bus to the next town over to work for $5.70 per hour because it's the only way to keep their housing voucher and her disabled youngest child's healthcare because of bullshit welfare-to-work laws......

Big Brothers/Big Sisters is a great organization.

Or, if you prefer not to go the formal route, get to know a struggling single parent and babysit for free. I haven't accepted money for babysitting in a couple of years -- I do it as a ministry and a service, and it feels great. Also, I have lots of friends under the age of 10. :D

[Fleshdancer]

8. My husband is considering being a Big Brother

I think he would be great at it.

That's a good idea too...to not accept money for babysitting.

[southerngirlwriter]

10. BB/BS is a great organization

It takes a couple of weeks -- they run a background check and all that stuff. They also do a home visit (no big deal, as long as your guns are locked up and your bathroom door has a lock you're cool). The interview is long and pointed -- if your husband (or you if you decide to do it) have any abuse issues from your childhood, they'll ask if/how you've dealt with it and if you'd be comfortable mentoring a kid with similar issues. In my case it went like this:

"When you were a child, did you ever have sexual contact with an adult?"

"Yes."

"Is that something you feel like you've worked through? Was the offender ever charged with the abuse?"

"It was (deleted info), a member of my family-of-origin. No, he was never charged. No one believed me. I did talk therapy for several years, and I've dealt with it and moved past it. In fact, I'm pretty damn proud of how well I've handled it."

"Would you be comfortable mentoring a little girl with an abusive background?"

"Sure. I think we'd probably relate well."

"Great."

See? Mostly painless. I wrote it all out because the last time I talked about the BB/BS interview, I evidently scared someone away. :(

[Fleshdancer]

11. interesting....

while it's sad that someone was scared away from these questions, what's more sad is that most people have been through what is considered an abusive childhood...whether it be sexual, emotional, or physical. We end up feeling alone when we never really are.

[FDRrocks]

12. Local animal shelter when they will take me

I just walk dogs and occasionally clean cat cages. Many weekends it has too many volunteers though.

[Red State Rebel]

13. Nine years now....

I volunteered at our local high school as the instructor for their Colorguard/Winterguard program. I held auditions, ran rehearsals, made flags and uniforms and went to competitions with them. I absolutely loved working with the kids - I started an Independent Winterguard 3 years ago that includes college kids up to 22 and some high school kids. I retired from the high school group last year after 8 years but still volunteer as Director of the Independent group.

It's a lot of work and a heavy duty time committment, but I love seeing what the activity does for the kids. It teaches them hard work and discipline.

During the summer I volunteer as a seamstress for the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corp. I travel with them bus by from town to town making repairs and alterations on their uniforms on a daily basis. There are 135 performing members and the extremely difficult drill moves in their show can wreak havoc on the unforms. They also lose weight throughout the summer from all the hard work rehearsing and performing so we make alterations all summer to make sure they look great. I am usually on the road with them about 3 weeks a summer traveling over 4,000 miles.

I am currently in the Master Gardener program thru the University of Missouri and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. After I'm thru with my training, I will be a volunteer for their speakers bureau. Garden clubs, etc. hire speakers from the program for presentations on various topics. I haven't chosen what my topic will be yet.

I love all of my volunteer work and honestly feel I get more than I give from each experience. You will never be sorry for getting involved - just make sure you choose an organization or cause you are passionate about and you can't lose.

[Fleshdancer]

14. Seriously???

The Missouri Botanical Gardens are WONDERFUL! I went there for the first time last summer...my inlaws live in MO. Absolutely beautiful.

Oddly enough, my HS mascot was the Cavaliers so I have this weird vision of you on a hs bus with idiot highschool girls I went to school with. For some reason they are all named Courtney and Traci...and yes, that IS with an "I".

[Red State Rebel]

18. The Mo. Botanical Gardens are wonderful

I was thrilled to get into the program - you have to apply and interview and they only took 25 of almost 50 that applied.

The Cavaliers I work with are all male - ages 16-22. There isn't a bad one in the bunch - all wonderful young men you would be thrilled to see your daughter bring home. They travel with 5 motor coaches, 2 Semi's - one for equipment and one is a cook truck. It is a fully outfitted kitchen and everyone is fed all 3 meals plus snack from it. Their website is www.cavaliers.org.

My guard website is www.bravada.org.

[REP]

20. Shaw Garden Is What Makes St Louis Worthwhile!

I say this as a native KCer. One of the most wonderful places on earth.

[Lisa0825]

15. I have done volunteer work since high school....

I was in a service club in HS, and we participated in various projects all year, from visiting nursing homes to cleaning the beach. In College, I was the Campus Service Coordinator for a social club I was in. My duty was to find volunteer opportunities on campus for club members to participate in. Our club also had one major project each year, and we usually scraped and painted a house, did yard work, and otherwise helped with whatever maintenence was needed. The recipient was usually an elderly widow. That was always rewarding, because the ladies were always so thankful and generous.. usually made kolaches and lemonade, and sat talking to us about the history of the house, etc.... really lovely memories.

As an adult, for several years, I got "too busy" to volunteer. The truth is you just have to BUDGET the time. Anyway, I still did an event now and then, like Special Olympics or food drives, but didn't commit to a long term project again until last year. For the past 8 months, I have been teaching English as a Second Language at a local literacy organization. It is SO fun and rewarding!!! and you do NOT have to know a second language to teach either, so don't let that scare you away.


After two semesters, I may take a break and try something new. I am thinking about volunteering at the Houston Area Women's Center. They offer many services to victims of abuse/violence. As an employment counselor at a state workforce office, I often refer ladies to HAWC, when I have reason to believe they have violence in their history. They can get free counseling, free legal aid, shelter, financial assistance, etc. It's a wonderful organization!


Anyway... now that I am involved in a community organization again, I realize how much I missed it. I plan to stay involved as much as I possibly can.

[Lindacooks]

16. Christmas Sharing

In my small town we have a Community Resource Center, where qualified households can get help with food, clothing, and shelter. Every holiday season, parents can submit a 'wish list' of one toy their kids want, with a second choice in case the first isn't possible.

Since 1995, I've been shopping for 30-40 kids, making damn sure they get their first choice. The dollar limit is around $30, and I've gotten bikes, doll houses, and even a real new sewing machine (Ebay) for that amount. The saddest thing is kids who want warm clothes for Christmas. When I get a request like that, I make sure to buy little toys on my own and tuck them into the pockets of the clothes. The coolest thing is when I see a little kid riding one of 'my' bikes around town. It's not Christmas without Christmas Sharing.

[Ysabel]

17. my younger brother had a big sister...

now that sounds a little funny to me because i'm his big sister...

anyway - he had a volunteer big sister - and she was great - she spent time with me and my other brother too - and also a bunch of our friends - they all loved her too - everybody thought she was great...!

i just recently decided to sponser a little boy in brazil. he's six yrs. old. i have a picture of him and i know some about his family and about the town that he lives in and about his schooling. a letter from him is supposed to arrive soon - and i'm planning on sending him a long letter soon too with all sorts of pictures (i paint plus i'll send photos too) and information about me and my family and where i live, etc...

i've volunteered at public schools as well as at alternative schools...

i've volunteered in a book program for jails...

i've been involved in various kinds of co-ops for about 35 years - sometimes working for pay - but oft-times not...

until recently we (htuttle and me) never really had enough money to donate very much to organizations though we were able to occasionally (we were raising our kids and so we were always broke - but now they are grown - so we have a little more money) - this past two years or so we've donated as much money as we can to various progressive political groups - that kind of feels or seems similar to me to volunteering - (actually htuttle has done a lot more than that - he has volunteered to do a lot of tech. type stuff for various groups)...

edited - typo...

p.s. good luck Gloria...! :)

[REP]

19. Clinic Escort

Very rewarding - even when I had to escort protesters inside for their procedures.

[Kamika]

21. Well I volunteer for some stuff my church does

mainly for abused women etc.. but ppl here don't like it cuz its done by a church.

Uhm it's ok but you do get rather cynical

[Crunchy Frog]

22. I've volunteered off and on

at a wildlife rehab center. I've gotten to hand raise alot of baby squirrels and bunnies. Gotten to help hand raise alot of different types of songbirds. It's been pretty interesting and rewarding. I'm not going there very much right now because the place is kind of in disarray, and being badly run, and that gets frustrating.

Good luck!