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What sort of volunteer activities do you guys do? What are your beliefs about volunteer activities (can't imagine not volunteering regularly, don't have time anymore, local community vs. international, etc)?
I recently realized that I haven't done any volunteering since graduating from college a couple of years back, and I miss it. Granted, now that I have a career, I can donate a lot more money, but that's not the same thing as hands-on volunteering.
I'm a big believer in giving back in the most effective way possible - my husband and I, for instance, send all of our charity money abroad to support education, nutrition, and health care for children in developing nations, since I believe that this is the best way to reduce long-term suffering. We could probably save more lives if we focused on only nutrition & health care, but education is pretty much the key factor in increasing long-term economic growth.
Theoretically, I suppose I could help the most people by just getting a part-time job, rather than volunteering locally. Practically speaking, however, I already work long hours, and there's just no way I can motivate myself to do more work. I do think I could fit in some volunteer time, though.
Right now I'm considering training my mellow malamute, Panda, to be a therepy dog to visit local hospitals and senior homes to brighten up people's days. I'm also thinking about working with the immigrant/refugee community as an ESL tutor (I have a lot of past volunteer tutoring experience). I'd love to be a citizen advocate for children in "the system", but I'm not sure how long we'll be living in this area, and some of these cases can drag on for years.
If anyone else has great ideas/experiences of volunteering, please share 'em.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I love volunteering and I can't imagine not doing it on a regular basis. My current project is making calls from home to make appointments for blood donors for the Red Cross. I have done work for the Red Cross in other areas like Disaster Relief in Texas and South Carolina for last year's hurricanes, local disaster relief for tornadoes here and when there are home fires, and I educate children about HIV/AIDS/STDs. I have served as a team captain and a committee member for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. I also do some seasonal work with the Salvation Army like delivering meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I really like to cruise Volunteer Match for new ideas, especially small, short-term projects when the other stuff gets stale. I mainly stick with charities that deal with health and medical issues just as a personal preference, but I have dabbled in a lot of different places, but it is the medical ones that keep me coming back.
Good luck getting back into it. It feel so good to feel like you are making a difference.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Jhai, giving money to causes is great, particularly international ones where it's not possible for you to help out physically. But I definitely think that giving time is much more worthwhile in the end.
I volunteer with a few organizations but devote most of my time to volunteering with a group called Organizing for America in Bethlehem. It's the continuation of a group of Obama campaign volunteers. Though we've mostly disassociated ourselves with the national organization and concentrate on our own issues of local importance. I'm heavily involved with the Community Service subgroup of the greater organization. I like it because I don't have a specific cause that I'm passionate about but just want to help increase the quality of life in my community.
We've held food drives, clothing drives, book drives, trail clean ups, washed children's school bushes, washed clothing from homeless shelters, helped out some families in need who lost their homes in a fire, we volunteer daily at a soup kitchen, and more...It's nice because not only can I get involved in helping out, but I've been involved in planning and it's really rewarding.
Right now we're involved in a big project where we're lobbying surrounding townships to give money to our city for the influx of homeless people that come in from their townships, as part of a larger goal of setting up a permanent homeless shelter. Right now the local churches handle this by each volunteering their location one night a week in a revolving schedule.
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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As nursing students , my class does a lot fro volunteering. I have participated in walk-a-thins, food drives, a baby shower for a woman's shelter, and helped at an assisted living facility for a day.
I brought my dog to the assisted living place, and the residents loved him.
We are planning a lot more for this semester. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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The neat thing about volunteering is you can learn new skills or dig more deeply into familiar ones. It also helps keep fingers on the pulse of where it's all at, which is really important when direct providers move onwards and upwards into administration and policy making.
I volunteer with a welfare advocacy group, and have volunteered for many years in our community's interfaith projects focused on social justice and outreach. I have volunteered in correctional facilities with youth and women, and with street outreach for HIV/AIDS issues. I consistently volunteer in my son's school. My son's dad has volunteered to coach sports and chaperone field trips and supervise camp-outs.
I am starting to look for opportunities to get grubby in my community = environmental stuff. I'm indoors too much, and miss outside time.
Try different stuff out! It's fun! And it sure looks good on a resume, too. *grin*
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I volunteer my services as a Child Passenger Safety Technician. I work with an agency, go out of my way to attend their checks, and also sometimes drive up to half an hour away to do private checks for free. Most techs in the area only do checks through their work, or charge; I feel that this is something I'm passionate about, I want to help, and my help needs to be available to everyone (therefore, free.) I spent hundreds of dollars getting certified, several hundred more outfitting my tech kit, and of course there's the gas. But it's all worth it to me if one child leaves a check safer than s/he came in. I know the only way I can fix the dangerous misuse I see is by helping parents learn, educating them, so I become their resource to solve problems and provide education on how they can keep their kids safe. It's very rewarding emotionally to me. A lot of techs I know do charge and ask me often why I don't. But I feel a strong sense of duty to help and give of myself without charging for it. And I also spend countless hours on forums helping parents with their questions online, which is great.
I also do some work for my church. I volunteer at the Bishop's Storehouse (food distribution center for families that are recieving aid through Church Welfare). It's always rewarding. And we've recieved that aid in the past, it feels good to help give back somewhat. Of course I, being Mormon, have a calling, though honestly my current one doesn't entail much. When there's a service project, we make it if we can. Sometimes that means service for the local community, occasionally it's service for those far away. I like both kinds.
So, um, I don't know if that answered your questions, but that's my main volunteer stuff right now. Oh! We also sometimes go down to the local nursing home and convelescent home and the kids are "volunteer grandchildren." They visit the residents that never get visitors. The residents love it and so do the kids. I remember fondly doing it as a child and hope the kids will have fond memories when they get older as well.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I'm usually too phenomenally busy to volunteer for anything but I still stick with very part-time stuff, like our chamber orchestra.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I have volunteered in DC doing tutoring. I was only able to do it for six months before I started grad school and my work schedule changed, but I really enjoyed it.
It's a high commitment thing, because it really gets effective when they pair you with a sophomore and you help them through high school and help them with college applications. I'm sad I didn't get to stay with it longer.
I looked around here for a while to find something to volunteer for, and that really seemed to be a place where I could help and that needed help.
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I know the only way I can fix the dangerous misuse I see is by helping parents learn, educating them, so I become their resource to solve problems and provide education on how they can keep their kids safe. It's very rewarding emotionally to me. A lot of techs I know do charge and ask me often why I don't. But I feel a strong sense of duty to help and give of myself without charging for it. And I also spend countless hours on forums helping parents with their questions online, which is great.
