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Post by busy on Oct 16, 2023 19:21:27 GMT
I volunteer for a few things.
As a family, we volunteer for our local Audubon Society because our son is deeply interested in birds, science, and environmental issues. Our local chapter has many opportunities to volunteer in projects that relate to all those topics. It's important to us to model volunteerism as a value, so we do it together.
We also volunteer for the Oregon Food Bank, packing bulk foods for shipment to regional food banks. It's very physical work and frankly, really boring, but it gives us all a chance to pause and think about our privilege and the things we take for granted. Audubon is fun and interesting, but sometimes things need to be done because they are really important, even if they aren't fun at all, and few things are more important than ensuring everyone has adequate healthy food.
I'm also virtually mentoring a couple early career women in the fintech world who come from nontraditional backgrounds. Tech and finance - and the two together - are hard enough for women with "perfect" resumes. They're much harder to break into for women who are older, are from other countries, who have great skills and experience but not degrees, etc.
That's all I'm doing right now. I've done more in the past but I just don't have the capacity right now.
I never volunteered for school stuff because there were always more than enough parents willing to do that and not nearly enough people willing to volunteer for things that didn't directly benefit their families.
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kay2rn
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Post by kay2rn on Oct 16, 2023 19:40:53 GMT
I volunteer one morning a week packing lunches for Meals on Wheels.
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Post by stampnscrap1128 on Oct 16, 2023 20:10:21 GMT
It's so inspiring to read about all these volunteer experiences! I was a long time Girl Scout volunteer (over 20 years), helped start an animal humane society when we lived in Minnesota, did the PTA thing, still help with some animal rescue stuff. Then Covid came and then I got cancer. And my husband got ALS and died. I was a caretaker for his elderly father until he died this past May. So I haven't gotten back into volunteering. I still have fatigue due to my cancer and just don't have the mental/physical/emotional "oomph" to do a whole lot. But I loved those active volunteer experiences and perhaps will return to something. I've done a wee bit of volunteering at a local wildlife rehab center and would like to resume that.
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lesley
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Post by lesley on Oct 16, 2023 21:00:16 GMT
For the last five years, I have volunteered with a UK/ROI charity called The Samaritans. We offer a 24/7 telephone, instant chat, email, and (daytime) face-to-face service to people in crisis, or suicidal, or just needing someone to talk to. I do a four-hour shift on the phone every week, with one shift a month being unsociable hours. Volunteers go through an intensive training programme before being let loose and also a six-month probation working with a mentor. It’s difficult, exhausting, and mentally very intensive. The phones rarely stop ringing. But it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, it has made me much more empathetic, and I have made some amazing friends with other volunteers. I’m actually on a leave of absence at the moment because my own mental health has been very poor the last couple of months. You need a high level of resilience to take calls, and also to be able to leave them in the office at the end of a shift. I don’t have that resilience at the moment, so I would be no use to callers.
I volunteer because I have something to offer, and because it helps me feel I’m giving back. Samaritans were there for me when I was going through a hard time. Not giving advice, not telling me what to do, just listening, and empathising and letting me say all the scary and 'what if' things I couldn’t say to anyone else.
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Post by alsomsknit on Oct 16, 2023 21:42:57 GMT
I’ve volunteered in different capacities through my son’s school years. When he moved onto the middle school, I had continued on in the elementary school for a couple of years. High school was marching band.
Pre-COVID, I had been working with a cat rescue. I would like to start volunteering with them again; but the last round of COVID escalated the Fibro/CFS symptoms. I am finally feeling less horrid, but not to the level of volunteering, just functioning better.
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Post by camanddanismom on Oct 16, 2023 23:09:13 GMT
I have volunteered for the Friends of our Public Library. I have been on the board for 12 years, vice president for 3, president for 4. Basically we raise money for the library and support other literacy initiatives in the community.
I also volunteered while my kids were in school. My oldest graduated from high school this year.
I am on 3 other boards as a regular member. One supports community organizations in our town, one allocates funds for teacher/staff initiatives at our High School and the other provides scholarships to local college bound students.
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caangel
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Post by caangel on Oct 16, 2023 23:20:01 GMT
My mom has always volunteered in various ways, and now I do the same. my parents were always volunteering.. a lot. so it was a family tradition to pitch in where you can. I wonder if that's true for a lot of us who are serial volunteers. We volunteer in part because of the way we were raised and the examples that were set for us. Not me. My parents are constantly asking if I get paid for what I do 🙄 My mom did volunteer when I was 3rd grade and under. But we moved to CA when i was in the 4th grade and she had to work due to the high cost of living compared to where we were before. I don't really recall her volunteer but she has shared with me what she did. I do work as a sub but am picky and only sub at 1 school. I don't need the money but enjoy teaching and the flexibility. Plus of course keeping my toe in my previous career just in case I need or want to return for a more regular job.
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scrappinmama
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Post by scrappinmama on Oct 16, 2023 23:50:35 GMT
I volunteer for my church's children's ministry. I used to work there and still have friends that work there. I now volunteer because I believe it's important to invest time into children at our church and create a safe, nurturing environment for them. There is so much hate in this world, and a lot of christians who hate people that are different than them. I want to be part of the solution to stopping that type of close-minded christian.
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Post by 950nancy on Oct 17, 2023 2:04:16 GMT
I volunteer with kids who have been through trauma. Add horses to that. It is an amazing experience and we have a 1-1 ratio in our group, and the kids really respond to the horses and even the adults.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Oct 17, 2023 2:29:40 GMT
I mostly volunteer when the school or PTA needs someone to do something. I don’t have a ton of time to do anything on a regular basis but when something pops up that I can help with I pitch in there.
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Post by FuzzyMutt on Oct 17, 2023 3:29:38 GMT
I volunteer on my state professional society board of directors, for the last 16 years. I don’t see myself moving away from that before I retire, unless they move away from me lol
I also do a *very* little dog rescue volunteering. I’ve done fostering and also spay/neuter day assisting.
Lastly, my favorite. I volunteer at our local senior center. I kind of stumbled into it, but I found the most awesome way to volunteer my time, and it was completely unplanned. Way more involvement in the holiday months, but usually a day or evening a month all year. 3 or 4 days in both Nov/Dec.
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Post by FuzzyMutt on Oct 17, 2023 3:32:50 GMT
It's so inspiring to read about all these volunteer experiences! I was a long time Girl Scout volunteer (over 20 years), helped start an animal humane society when we lived in Minnesota, did the PTA thing, still help with some animal rescue stuff. Then Covid came and then I got cancer. And my husband got ALS and died. I was a caretaker for his elderly father until he died this past May. So I haven't gotten back into volunteering. I still have fatigue due to my cancer and just don't have the mental/physical/emotional "oomph" to do a whole lot. But I loved those active volunteer experiences and perhaps will return to something. I've done a wee bit of volunteering at a local wildlife rehab center and would like to resume that. Wow- that’s a lot! I’m so sorry the last few years have been so incredibly brutal. You set up an animal humane society- that’s incredible!
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Post by dawncpa on Oct 17, 2023 9:39:54 GMT
I volunteer at a school that breeds, raises, trains and places guide dogs. I do a variety of things from work at the front desk, make dog lickety sticks, fitness with the dogs, help with tours, etc. It’s my happy place.
I spend most of my time as a disaster volunteer. Even when I’m not deployed to a disaster I’m doing training, mentoring and other tasks. I’ve been in the logistics area - specifically transportation management - for a number of years. I’ve made incredible friends all over the country.
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Post by cakediva on Oct 17, 2023 12:09:04 GMT
Sort of lol. I became a Brownie leader when I was 18, and continued as a Sparks leader later on, until my girls ended Guides and decided they were done. I'd had 20 years of weekly meeting planning and I was burnt out, so I hung up my shirt. I did spend time on Parent Council while my kids were in grade school, and once my DS was done, I was done! Now, I volunteer for Big Brother's Big Sister's local chapter. I'm not involved with littles, I've done my kid related volunteering. But I do volunteer on their gala committee. It is their largest fundraiser of the year, and the organization runs on funding. I help with decor & guest experience, and for the last 5 years I've been involved, I've been the dessert sponsor - I provide dessert for the dinner, as well as place setting cookies with the dinner sponsor's logo on them. I've also been an administrator for Icing Smiles Canada since it came to our area. I connect families with bakers to provide them with a cake. This one I can do from my own home and use email ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/MNrJDkDuSwqIMVw33MdD.jpg)
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Post by cecilia on Oct 17, 2023 13:20:26 GMT
Extension Homemakers Club-- County wide projects are Christmas bags for kids in need, kitchen shifts during fairs, various little things (donate food and old towels to animal shelter, etc). Club #1-- cook meals for men's homeless shelter, cook for warming/cooling shelters Club #2-- make canned jams/jellies for Christmas baskets for needy Documentary Film Fest-- screen films(over 100/yr since 2021), theater attendant. Should add that club #1 makes lunch for vendors at arts and crafts fair and deliver them. It is our main fundraiser. We also do various other fundraisers for projects, both club and county wide.
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Post by floridagirl on Oct 17, 2023 16:44:25 GMT
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moodyblue
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Post by moodyblue on Oct 17, 2023 21:08:00 GMT
With some friends, I organize and run an annual event to raise money for childhood cancer causes. Our most recent was October 7th and we are feeling really good about the positive feedback and funds raised. We had thought this would likely be our last one, as the main organizer (and a good friend) died last January. However the people who help all seem to be on board with continuing the event.
For many decades I have served on the boards of at least one and sometimes as many as four professional organizations; two of the statewide orgs were ones I was a charter member of and helped found. I’ve edited newsletters, been secretary for many years with one, and was president of one that I helped start. I also served on a state board of Ed committee for almost four years.
Currently I am on the board of the state reading council, serve on the grants committee and edit the newsletter that goes out across the state. I’ve thought several times that I would end my years as editor (somewhere around 20+ at this point), but I keep getting asked to serve another three-year term. I also proofread other publications as asked.
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Post by twinks on Oct 17, 2023 22:59:55 GMT
I am still working full time so my volunteer time is limited. Before Covid, I delivered Meals on Wheels a couple days a week. I am a permanent teleworker so that isn’t feasible for me. I do volunteer every Wednesday afternoon from 3 - 6pm at a “food drive” sponsored by the Utah Food Bank and the Bishop’s Storehouse (LDS). I love it!! I go and sometimes help bag produce or otherwise set up and then they have 2 lines of cars coming through and we put the food in trunks.
I also cook a meal every Tuesday for a neighbor who is a double amputee and wheelchair bound. He is a really nice guy. He is a diabetic and I am used to cooking. It isn’t a formal volunteer position. I made a meal for him as part of my Church congregation when he was ill about 2 years ago. He was out walking Riley, his support dog, and asked if I could help him out with a meal once a week. I am always thinking of him and made too much soup on Sunday so I ran some over to him. Neither one of us wanted it to be formal or through my church so it works out great.
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Post by smasonnc on Oct 17, 2023 23:16:32 GMT
I am a member and past president of a General Federation of Woman’s Clubs (GFWC) affiliate. We have 5 Community Service Committees, a mandate to do projects to help Domestic Violence prevention and awareness, and we host a home tour that raises money for scholarships. We’ve awarded over $400,000 since the tour began. In the past few months, we did a beach cleanup, helped with the Empty Bowls Project, and we will do the Breast Cancer Walk at the end of the month.
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Post by Lexica on Oct 17, 2023 23:49:13 GMT
I don’t at the moment, but I plan to after I get well settled in. I have always volunteered throughout most of my life though.
When I first started gleaning, there were several agricultural fields in the area that allowed people to enter after they had harvested all that they could then we could come in and pick anything that was left. There would be a truck there to collect the food and you could choose where you wanted to see your food donated. I never cared where it went, so long as it was used instead of left to rot in the fields. It was all good food, but was perhaps not ripe when the commercial pickers went through.
Then there was a large open area underneath power lines and next to train tracks that would never be used for any other commercial purpose. The city allowed us to plant all kinds of vegetables on that land. We picked everything from Brussels sprouts, potatoes, tomatoes, green onions. They had just received a donation of fruit trees and those were being planted the last time I was there. It was great for kids to see things growing in the ground. We did both picking of ripe vegetables and planting of starter plants.
At one of the companies I worked for, I was on a committee that organized volunteer opportunities for employees. We worked with Habitat for Humanity, read books to children, had canned food drives, worked in a couple of soup kitchens in a nearby city, and continued the gleaning. The gleaning was a popular one because people could bring their children out to work too. The company ordered a bunch of t-shirts so that we all matched and could keep an eye on each other. I really enjoyed those times and appreciated learning of new avenues for us to try to make a difference.
I haven’t looked into what is in my new area, but I am sure I will find something to volunteer for.
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Post by librarylady on Oct 19, 2023 15:50:58 GMT
I retired and took almost a year for R&R and then began looking around for volunteer opportunities.
For several years I gave tours of the 2 log cabins in our historical park (school children). Then the city wanted to make the Historical Park into a profit center and the schools were not coming. Currently I am the receptionist on Monday at a Food Pantry/clothes closet (9 to 3).
I also do things for the local police department. My main duties this year have been scanning arrest reports from the past into digital form to make it easy to see if someone has an arrest history. I also help at events in the city with "crowd control." We also do things like walk through the crowd and remind anyone smoking that smoking is not allowed.
My adult SS class is a discussion class and for the last 5-6 years I lead the discussion. (I resigned that in February of this year.)
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Post by gryroagain on Oct 19, 2023 18:24:15 GMT
I love all the pea volunteers!
Mine is a bit different as I don’t live in the US, I volunteer at an orphanage. English for preschool and toddlers, I spent many hours developing a curriculum based on books and crafts as previously it was just kind of English speakers showing up and playing. I’ve resisted getting involved with the fundraising/oversight arm of the charity as I’d rather just run these programs and work directly with the kids. The charity pays 2 English teachers to teach classes to he older children so raising money for their salaries is important but not really what I want to do…
I also teach some neighborhood kids for free, my excuse is I haven’t got a work permit but in my neighborhood they can’t afford to pay and I don’t want it.
I also TNR cats in my neighborhood, it’s incredibly rewarding seeing the flow of kittens slow to a trickle.
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Post by katiekaty on Oct 20, 2023 17:31:56 GMT
I volunteer regularly (quarterly) at the Houston Food Bank. Although this is tied to our corporate volunteering goals, I would do this anyway. The last activity I did there, was making meal packs for kids to take home on weekends when they don't have access to the free meals at the school. I also volunteer annually for CYCLE. It is an organization here that gives elementary-aged kids a free bike and helmet when they achieve their reading goals. We give a day of our time to build the bikes that go to these kids. Thank you for your work at the Houston Food Bank. When I can, I do too. When I can, I make a big purchase from their list of needs and drop it off.
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Post by scrapmaven on Oct 20, 2023 18:40:06 GMT
I always said that when I was older I wanted to volunteer at our local NICU, holding the babies and helping the nurses by doing feedings and diaper changes, etc. Having had 2 preemies, it seemed like a lovely way to give back. Those women who volunteered really supported the nurses and the babies who's mothers didn't come to vist.
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Post by librarylady on Oct 20, 2023 19:13:00 GMT
I always said that when I was older I wanted to volunteer at our local NICU, holding the babies and helping the nurses by doing feedings and diaper changes, etc. Having had 2 preemies, it seemed like a lovely way to give back. Those women who volunteered really supported the nurses and the babies who's mothers didn't come to vist. My mother was a LVN. She wanted to do that when she retired, but was too busy with other things to ever do it.
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scrapaddie
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Post by scrapaddie on Oct 21, 2023 1:39:29 GMT
For the last 15 years, I have been a docent at the Columbus zoo. I do things to help the keepers, such as chopping food for an aviary or doing watches. I walk around and talk to guest to enhance their experience and do after hours tours. Wildlight tours will start soon. I drive people around in cars so that they can see the lights and stop to see some of the animals. I tell them stories about the animals.
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Post by Merge on Oct 21, 2023 2:01:51 GMT
I volunteer regularly (quarterly) at the Houston Food Bank. Although this is tied to our corporate volunteering goals, I would do this anyway. The last activity I did there, was making meal packs for kids to take home on weekends when they don't have access to the free meals at the school. I also volunteer annually for CYCLE. It is an organization here that gives elementary-aged kids a free bike and helmet when they achieve their reading goals. We give a day of our time to build the bikes that go to these kids. Thank you for your work at the Houston Food Bank. When I can, I do too. When I can, I make a big purchase from their list of needs and drop it off. We make regular monetary donations to the Food Bank, but I need to get my butt down there and volunteer my time as well. I have no excuse except that being in/interacting with a roomful of strangers is hard for me. The only thing I can say I do regularly is to donate blood. It's not really volunteering, but I'm type O negative so they're generally glad when I show up. I'm inspired by all the peas here who do so much for their communities.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Oct 22, 2023 12:39:01 GMT
I volunteer for an organization called Lasagna Love. It was started during the pandemic as a way to support front line workers. Today it is a place where people who need a hot meal can sign up and get one. So it can be for any reason, food insecurity, a new baby in the house, someone had surgery. Any reason someone might be on a meal tree type of thing. As a volunteer you sign up for the number of times in a month you want to be matched with a family and the number of families you want to serve. I sign up once a month for two families. You are matched and then you communicate with the family you get a list of any food issues and how many are in the family and then you make the lasagana and deliver it to them. It is very rewarding1
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