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Post by refugeepea on Jun 28, 2019 19:26:43 GMT
No, I don't volunteer.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 15, 2024 15:36:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2019 19:48:29 GMT
I was in my daughter’s dance group longer than she was. I wish I kept track of my hours and baked good donations, because I think that I donated more time and “money” then the so called real volunteers.
I am done for now....
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lesley
Drama Llama
My best friend Turriff, desperately missed.
Posts: 7,179
Location: Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
Member is Online
Jul 6, 2014 21:50:44 GMT
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Post by lesley on Jun 28, 2019 20:10:03 GMT
I don’t think it’s such a thing in the UK as it seems to be among the US Peas. UK peas, please correct me if I’m wrong! So I was Chair of my DDs pre-school for a year I think that’s all. I think you’re wrong! 😄 Several of my friends volunteer, and when my kids were younger I did the whole PTA, school board, etc. I also taught after-school craft classes. Over the last few years I’ve done my share of charity shops, but never enjoyed it. It was only when I became a listener for Samaritans that I truly understood the fulfilment that can come from volunteering. I love doing it; when the phone rings you have no idea what kind of call you’re going to get. (We get a lot of sex calls - how sick is that?!) But when someone thanks you for listening and helping, it makes it all worthwhile. Suicide-in-progress calls are hard but one of my colleagues says that he looks upon it as a real privilege to spend someone’s last minutes with them. I think he’s right, and that comment has helped me deal with those calls better.
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Post by *KAS* on Jun 28, 2019 20:20:08 GMT
Yes, I wish I could volunteer more, but I work a more than full time job and travel a ton for work.
I volunteered at our local food bank mostly during the holidays for years. I just moved to a different county recently and need to see if they have something similar. I'm a very type A event planner, so I love stocking shelves, organizing the pantry, etc. Organizing for better efficiency is a skill that I have that I love to share with others! Only so many times you can organize your own shelves at home. haha!
I also volunteer at Whole Foods in the cooking school. It's an awesome way to learn cooking skills that I didn't have before. I'm much more confident in the kitchen, get to take home lots of yummy leftovers, and it's been a fun way to meet a different group of friends.
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Post by stargazer on Jun 28, 2019 20:20:43 GMT
I don’t think it’s such a thing in the UK as it seems to be among the US Peas. UK peas, please correct me if I’m wrong! I think it depends @gar I was on the PTA for a while, but then started working at the school so stepped away a bit whilst still helping out at all the extra curricular events. I was a Cub Scout leader for several years until work (& exhaustion/frustration) got in the way. Between dh & I we are always backstage in the various productions our kids have been in (which are many!). DH still gets roped into helping with several annual events of which they are no longer a part. DH is also a motor racing marshall. I was going to say that over the last 3 years I haven’t done much as I’ve been busy with my degree but I’ve just realised that standing as student rep probably counts & then all of the other things that I got roped into as a result of it. My parents always volunteered when they could & pretty much ran the little church they attended.
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Post by crittsmom on Jun 28, 2019 20:27:56 GMT
Like everyone else, volunteered with girl scouts for a few years. Now, out church senior pastor will be retiring soon, him and his wife have started a ministery of boomers ( Plus or minus because they wanted to be inculsive to all ages.), called boomertime +/-, we meet 2x/month and do chores around the church, from cleaning the welcome desk and putting supplies away to power washing the windows and making crafts for VBS. Since I'm still working I can't go every time, but looking forward to helping out more when I retire in a few years.
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Post by gar on Jun 28, 2019 20:43:16 GMT
I don’t think it’s such a thing in the UK as it seems to be among the US Peas. UK peas, please correct me if I’m wrong! So I was Chair of my DDs pre-school for a year I think that’s all. I think you’re wrong! 😄 Several of my friends volunteer, and when my kids were younger I did the whole PTA, school board, etc. I also taught after-school craft classes. Over the last few years I’ve done my share of charity shops, but never enjoyed it. It was only when I became a listener for Samaritans that I truly understood the fulfilment that can come from volunteering. I love doing it; when the phone rings you have no idea what kind of call you’re going to get. (We get a lot of sex calls - how sick is that?!) But when someone thanks you for listening and helping, it makes it all worthwhile. Suicide-in-progress calls are hard but one of my colleagues says that he looks upon it as a real privilege to spend someone’s last minutes with them. I think he’s right, and that comment has helped me deal with those calls better. I am humbled by your service 😔
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,396
Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Jun 28, 2019 20:48:32 GMT
Yes, I'm on the core planning team for a summer camp that teaches kids about various social justice topics, primarily homeless and working poor. This year we are hosting 8 camps in 5 different locations, and I'm working at 5 of those in addition to the planning, supplying, physical moves, etc. It's more than a full-time job hours-wise from about April - early June, during the summer it depends on which weeks I'm working, and the rest of the year can be anywhere from 2-20 hours per week.
I also volunteer with a ministry that goes out and feed homeless people - the truck goes out daily, DD and I go once a month and also provide hardboiled eggs and cookies one other time.
I run the library volunteers and book fairs at the elementary school and middle school.
I'm involved in Girl Scouts in varying amounts. I've been the leader before, ran the Bronze Award last year, this year didn't do too much.
Oh, and I'm the team mom for my son's sport.
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Post by bc2ca on Jun 28, 2019 21:05:00 GMT
My parents both volunteered, especially my mom. I volunteered on a couple of boards when I was in the corporate world, helping nonprofits with HR and hiring related issues. Once the kids came, most volunteering revolved around school and sports. As my kids were aging out of high school, I became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and work with children in the foster care system. There is a time commitment, but it is super flexible and can work around your schedule. There are quite a few current and past CASA on this board. Find a local CASA program.
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Post by MichyM on Jun 28, 2019 21:34:48 GMT
Yes! I have much more time now now that child launched 10 years ago, and I retired, and my husband and I split up. I love that I can easily offer up my time and it doesn’t impact anything else negatively in my life by doing so.
In the past couple of years I’ve regularly volunteered at our neighborhood “help line,” the city animal shelter, and after school tutoring at a local elementary school.
Prior to that I mainly helped at my son’s schools (room parent, fundraisers, and the like) and activities (mainly theatre).
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Post by needmysanity on Jun 28, 2019 22:24:17 GMT
There are quite a few current and past CASA on this board. I have been a CASA and a Board Member. My sons had a CASA when they were in foster care. I always say the saved their lives and I wouldn't have been able to adopt them without her. I try to give back to them as much as I can. I am currently on a steering committee for our Chamber of Commerce and have sat on numerous boards in the past. I work for a non profit agency and our volunteers do so much for us. We have about 75 in different capacities and I am so grateful they offer their time and talents to us.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,709
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on Jun 28, 2019 22:27:24 GMT
I do, but only about once a quarter for the Houston Food Bank.
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Post by stacmac on Jun 28, 2019 23:02:50 GMT
Yep, I have done various volunteering roles since I had my kids and went on family leave. These days I'm too busy to do much unfortunately. I am on the committee for our local toy library and on the PA at school. When we are in a situation where I can drop some work hours, I really want to do wildlife caring. I started to do a little, but had to go back to work and it's very demanding.
I would definitely recommend getting involved! It's really rewarding to me and has been great for my social life!
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Post by kels99 on Jun 29, 2019 1:06:26 GMT
Yes, I do volunteer and have since college. Honestly, I'm a little over it now or maybe I just need a change in the type of volunteer work I do. I've always worked with kids through youth groups, girl scouts, pta, etc. I really like doing spreadsheets, keeping track of registrations, that kind of thing so many I need to find something like that. I'm currently involved in a local community organization and get to do some of that, but the other people are starting to really annoy me, so I may stop doing that soon.
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Post by quinmm14 on Jun 29, 2019 1:30:52 GMT
I signed up for the CASA program several weeks ago, I haven't started the training yet, I think it starts the first week of August. I'm really excited to learn and start helping out.
When I retire, the first thing that I plan to volunteer for is to be a "grandma". The hospitals in our area have a program for babies in the NICU, the grandmas go in and rock the babies when the parents can't be there or for babies that are born addicted to drugs that are taken away from the parents. I'm not sure about all the information, my sister is a nurse and told me about the program.
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Post by refugeepea on Jun 29, 2019 1:37:55 GMT
I am humbled by your service 😔 Don't feel bad! The last time I volunteered I made small children cry. Apparently I ran a contest wrong at the school. They gave me no money for the prizes, so whatever. I've been on an indefinite hiatus since.
I need to volunteer for something where I don't have to interact with people. That would be the dream.
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Post by katlaw on Jun 29, 2019 2:08:51 GMT
I have always volunteered. After I graduated high school I volunteered with the community television station. They taught me how to operate TV production equipment and I had some amazing experiences volunteering with them. My husband and I both have volunteered with our children's school. Field trip help. Classroom help. Whatever has been needed that work with our work schedules. We have both volunteered with Air Cadets. And are both currently volunteers with The Navy League of Canada. It is very rewarding. I like the satisfaction of seeing the impact we have on the youth we interact with in the programs. I also volunteer at community events if I am available when they are looking for help.
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Post by dawncpa on Jun 29, 2019 3:35:33 GMT
Yes
I do disaster response. I mainly do logistics and love transportation. Some I can do from home, but usually I travel to disasters (flood, hurricane, mass casualty) for a few weeks at a time. This month I was in Arkansas for two weeks and I just finished helping Oklahoma virtually.
I also volunteer at a guide dog school. I do dog conditioning, enrichment, drive the campus shuttle and staff the front desk.
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Post by librarylady on Jun 29, 2019 4:20:14 GMT
My parents taught us to give back to our community. While I was working I mostly did work for church-Sunday School teacher, headed up feeding the homrless program and several church offices. Now that I sm retired I continue with church work, meals on wheels delivery, food pantry volunteer, volunteer with police dept and our historical park.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Jun 29, 2019 21:41:35 GMT
I volunteered a lot from childhood until about 10 years ago. 10 years ago, I had a very nasty experience in a faith-based organization when I was attacked out of the blue by another volunteer. Mr. Super Christian. It was horrifying, but worse was that no one came to my defense publicly. Privately, I heard how aghast people were, but I was hung out to dry in public with no basis in fact for the accusations. When no one, including the pastor, would do anything because talking to him about his attack "wouldn't be nice, so it's better if you just pretend it didn't happen", I walked away and have never returned.
In my unemployment, I was thinking of trying again. Haven't found anything yet.
FYI: justserve.org has nothing here. Within 30 minutes, there is a population of 800K and I got a total of 6 listings -- 4 identical listings for the Red Cross and 2 one day beach clean ups.
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Post by originalvanillabean on Jun 29, 2019 23:11:41 GMT
I volunteer with our local lab rescue. I love it.
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Post by canadianscrappergirl on Jun 30, 2019 0:00:33 GMT
Nope not anymore!
I literally volunteered for 1000s of hours at my kids schools for about 20 yrs from parent council president and secretary for 10+ yrs. I ran and organized the hot lunch program for years, did the volunteer in the class room, reading program, tons of fundraising, etc.
Did 100s hours of volunteer work in my church, taught Sunday school, volunteered thru our women's league and helped with the many activities we sponsored.
Was president and secretary of our arboretum society and did 100s of hours of fundraising and gardening.
Also delivered meals on wheels many times.
I quit all of it that I was still involved in when my very small town I'm talking so small we don't even have a traffic light or a police department small did nothing to help us during that time Spencer was so sick. Not even a fucking casserole!
I was still president of the arboretum then and I'd get phone calls and emails while he was in ICU on a breathing machine wanting me to talk to the gardener about shit. I said you know what I really could care a less about any of it, my mind can't even deal with it so I quit. I think many felt I shouldn't have left them in a lurch. I also think many in our shitty little town thought he wasn't as deathly ill as he was.
I will never ever volunteer again in my community!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 15, 2024 15:36:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2019 0:31:58 GMT
I volunteered with my daughter's school, with the school district board, high school drill team, our neighborhood HOA and Girl Scouts. I will keep volunteering with the Girls Scouts because my daughter participates, I like our troop leaders, and I like the strategic direction Girl Scouts has for their future outlook.
I've given A LOT of time and brain power helping our school board plan tactical strategies that impact district wide operations because our central office doesn't have that kind of brain trust. I consider this a gift to the community because for the first time in 15 years our district is going in the right direction and have gotten out from under all of our TEA oversight plans and have a good plan to manage growth and finances going forward.
We are not longer involved with dance and to be honest I am glad. Too much nepotism with the drill team director who ended up being fired for financial mismanagement. This couple with behind the scenes from other dance studio situations I choose not to be involved with those kinds of people who have a complete lack of integrity.
As for the HOA - they wanted me to drop everything to do their marketing when they said "jump". The lack of respect for my time was a deal breaker.
I am taking a step back from volunteering since my DH and I will be empty nesters in another 4/5 years. I want to enjoy this time with my girls. I will have time to volunteer later.
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Post by 950nancy on Jun 30, 2019 2:51:41 GMT
In August, I will be starting year five in volunteering at my old school. I either work with ten year olds or write curriculum. I am good at both, so I really enjoy my time.
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scentcrazy
Junior Member
Posts: 91
Sept 7, 2014 22:03:33 GMT
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Post by scentcrazy on Jun 30, 2019 3:47:21 GMT
I did volunteer for many years with my local chapter of Little Brothers/Friends of the Elderly. About 15 years maybe longer. Don't have as much time to volunteer now but an organization I am a member of has a huge volunteer effort once a year around Thanksgiving. Members donate gently used clothes/shoes/etc. We also have health care screenings and have food. It is our largest event and there are about 500 men/women/children who are served.
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SuPeaNatural
Full Member
AUSTRALIA
Posts: 424
Jun 27, 2014 8:49:11 GMT
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Post by SuPeaNatural on Jun 30, 2019 11:11:57 GMT
I've been a volunteer for over 20 years and really enjoy it.
I was on my towns LAC (local ambulance committee) for 7-8 years. We did fundraising to buy additional and\or upgraded equipment for our station that the government didn't supply. And when the trouble makers who are now on that committee finally leave, a bunch of us are going to rejoin.
I'm a volunteer steward at our local ag show once a year.
Myself and 3 others are currently starting a not for profit craft co-op in my town, to give local crafters somewhere to sell their wares - it's all volunteer.
I've also done my stints on the school P and C, and tuck shop duty when my kids were at school.
I also jump into other various things as they come up.
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Post by dockmaster on Jun 30, 2019 14:44:51 GMT
Currently I am a member and board officer for our local Faternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary. Their motto is "People Helping People". We raise money for a number of National as well as local charities.
In the past I volunteered in the kids schools, things like the classroom and later on the marching band.
Also, I volunteered and was on the board of the Family Readiness Group for my hisbands last boat before he retired. I spent several years volunteering as a mentor for the Navy's COMPASS Program too.
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Post by ToniW on Jun 30, 2019 15:23:28 GMT
Yes, I started at DS's school library. I then joined the local Lions Club and that was in 1987. I have since transferred to the club by my work (from which I am now retired) but this club is way more active than my old one. I have gone from club president to district secretary under the governor to training the spouses of the governor and vice governors thanks to DH's position (overseeing the state), walking around asking for donations to help bag 10,000 food packets for the hungry in other countries. My experience has certainly been varied in the things we've done but I seem to do mostly administrative stuff, especially in my club as my English is better than most. It could easily be a full time job!
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leeny
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,636
Location: Northern California
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 1:55:53 GMT
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Post by leeny on Jun 30, 2019 16:56:22 GMT
I volunteered for the usual school committees and events, Girl Scouts. Navy League Sea Cadets and Sea Scouts while the kids were growing up. As an empty nester I've volunteered for American Cancer Society Relay for Life, a local Rescue Mission Thanksgiving and Christmas give-a-way programs and other one-time opportunities. My longest running volunteer gig has been as an IRS-certified Tax Preparer with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program through our local United Way for the past 18 years. I am also a trainer and run a site. This volunteer opportunity led me into my "retirement job" after I retired from the County.
I am looking for a new volunteer opportunity where I can use my cardmaking skills. I'm in touch with our local friend outside program at our county jail to see if I can donate cards for prisoners to send to their kids for birthdays and other occasions.
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Post by Sparki on Jun 30, 2019 17:38:47 GMT
I belong to the local Sheriff's Posse. It's a non-profit all volunteer horseback search and rescue organization.
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