Anyone with volunteer experience?

[amg35]

I just signed up for the Catholic Charities volunteer program here in my city.
Not that I'm such a good Catholic , but I did grow up in the Church and I figure if I'm going to volunteer, I want to do it through them.

I said I have most evenings free during the weekdays and my day hours during the weekend are pretty open. I don't have a car, so I don't know if that will make a difference...

So I will wait to hear back from them.

I don't know, I figure there has to be more to life than me coming home after work and taking a nap during Hardball!!

My boyfriend filled one out also.

Any stories of volunteering?

 

[canadianjovigirl]

I spent years volunteering at a hospice and loved every moment of it, despite it being very emotionally draining. I loved being able to help those nearing the end of their life as well as being there for their families and even just holding someones hand as nobody deserves to die alone. I am currently on a break from doing that as had a few young deaths that took a toll on me so needed to step away for a bit to re-group.

I also volunteer at long term care Friday mornings and one evening a week to help feed the elderly who are unable to feed themselves.

I also spent time volunteering in my kids schools but not that they are older they would rather i not and i am also now working full time as well, but i do volunteer for their extra curricular activities.

 

[smkohn]

I used to volunteer in high school as a "study buddy" at my old elementary school. I worked with a little 1st grade girl 3 times a week after school. Helped her with homework, read with her, listened to whatever stories she had to tell me. The program was geared toward older kids who needed extra help with schoolwork and younger children who didn't seem to get a lot of support at home. She was the sweetest little girl, and it felt wonderful being there for her when she needed it.
I've also been trying to volunteer with our local hospital for some time, but the head of the volunteer department is a bit unorganized. Keeps telling me she'll get back to me, isn't sure where she needs people, didn't remember to send my paperwork over to get a volunteer badge, etc. I'm starting to think of giving up there and going to our next closest hospital.

 

[minkydog]

Not volunteering at the moment, but back about 2 years I went through a very hard time in my life. I was so far down I couldn't see the sky, when i finaly touched bottom. Part of fighting my way back including volunteering at a food bank. My job was packing a box of food that would last a family of 4 for a week. My emotions had taken a beating, but the act of filling up boxes with food made me calm. Having grown up poor myself, and having received numerous free food boxes as a child, I know how much it means to a family when someone gives them a hand up. I didn't work directly with the receiving families, which was great because I wasn't stable enough to do that. But there is something very Zen about loading a box with oatmeal, spaghetti, green beans, corn, soup, peanut butter, toilet paper....

What I learned from my experience is that almost ANYONE can help someone else. Volunteering helped me more than it helped those nameless families who recieved my boxes. As a result of my volunteer work, I was able to get back on my feet knowing that I was worth something to myself and to others. It gave me confidence to try again and here I am, 2 yrs later, better than ever.

Go for it!

 

[tigercat]

I have volunteered the entire time I have been married, 38 yrs. I started with helping nursing mothers, babysitting, Meals on wheels, baseball coach, on the board of the baseball league and now babysitting again. I am a little tired right now with volunteering so have taken a little break and am just doing the babysitting, for free. I also do volunteering for my faith as well, forgot about that.
tigercat

 

[Fire14]

I volunteered in Hosp. Coffee and Gift shop with my mom who dragged me with her b/c she didn't want to be alone, so I signed up to make it offical. I also did Errand and escort in hosp. and in step down ER and ER when I was in Nursing school. I enjoyed it actually learned something and had lots of study help from nurses in ER.
I also did various volunteer things while working at Kohl's. If nothing else visting folks in nursing homes or assisted living brightens their days. I know the AL I worked at loved it when my mom would come call bingo a few days/mo The folks loved getting extra bingo days.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I'm a Big Sister in Big Brothers Big Sisters. I was matched to a 9 year old girl three and a half years ago. We do a fun activity every week and it's neat to see her grow up and treat her to things she normally wouldn't get a chance to do.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I think some people are born with the volunteering gene in them. My parents volunteered as scouting leaders. I've been volunteering in different things since I was 16. I was a candy-striper at the local hospital. Then I tutored elementary school kids. When my kids began going to school I was involved in the PTO as secretary and president during the entire time (In retrospect, I don't know if that is always a good thing for the kids).

I've volunteered in the church for the past several years, and sometimes take on too much (I won't bore you with the details, and they're not necessary). Every couple of years I pare back, and then there I am again. My dad used to tell me I had a neon sign on my forehead with a big letter (not appropriate for the DIS) that advertised that a dummy was available to help (still makes me laugh).

I'm in paring down mode again, and right now I'm involved with the LifeTeen program at our church (love being with the teens), and continue as a lector and lector coordinator. Oh, and I run the website for the church, too.

I love being involved and helping people. It just makes me feel good.

I think my daughter has inherited that gene, but not my son.

 

[BlovesC]

I volunteer in a senior reassurance program at a city crisis center. We make daily calls to isolated, low-income senior citizens, most of them living in mobile home parks, to socialize, ensure their safety, remind them of medications, etc. Often we're their only human contact for the day. I absolutely love it, and my department is just one tiny fraction of the crisis center as a whole, which also addresses sexual and physical abuse, trauma recovery, substance abuse, family stabilization, poverty, suicide, you name it.

I have great respect for anyone who volunteers their time to those in need, in any capacity!

 

[RangerPooh]

I've been volunteering snce I was a teen, and continue to do it as an adult. The town that grew up in has one of the largest food festivals in the country (it's this weekend, sigh) and from the time I was 13 until I moved away at 25 I volounteered. I did everything form collecting garbage cans to collecting tickets, running money to and from the ticket booth to the "safe", cleaning, painting, setting up and taking down every sign for the festival, running water to volunters, directing parking, etc. And I miss it. In grad school I worked at our universities community service office where I established a free after school program for a low income community (and it's still going plus held literacy nights for the elementary schools in the surrounding rural comunities. I've volunteered for a wildlife rehab center, at a zoo, and am currently my daughters girl scout troop leader

 

[Lovin' Disney]

We are a volunteering kind of family! I agree with a PP...you really have to have it in your blood or a fire in your belly.

DH and I teach Sunday School at church...he has 6 years under his belt; I have been doing it for 4 years. He and I also plan the Christmas program each year, with the past 2 years having it be a living nativity with real animals and everything. That's a lot of fun and it's fun to see the animals "act" in the story.

We have been involved in our school's PTO for the past 4 years. I have been treasurer for the past 3 years and DH was vice-president last year. He and I revamped the Fun Frolic to make it a very memorable event each Halloween. Our kids also get involved by helping pick out prizes and sorting them. We also started a Santa's Secret Workshop, an Easter Egg Hunt (can you tell we like holidays?), put playground equipment in each classroom, and a few other minor projects to enhance students' lives. Our kids get involved by helping to pick out and sort prizes for each activity. We are planning an elementary dance for this year in addition to our other activities and our son wants to help DJ. Our next goal is to find a grant/fundraising opportunity to purchase new classroom desks and chairs. The classrooms have had the same ones since at least the 1970s and the desks/chairs are cracked and squeaky.

The place that I work at lets us submit volunteer hours and earn money for our organizations. I have earned $1000 for the PTO so far and have another $250 coming at the start of this school year.

My last volunteer activity is Girl Scouts. I have been the leader for my Daisy troop for the past 2 years and will bridge them along to Brownies this fall. I expect I will be involved with that until my daughter no longer wants to participate.

Once the kids are in junior high, we plan on starting a youth group at our church to keep them involved. My husband is a teacher and he plans on being our son's class advisor for all 6 years (7th-12th grade) and we plan on doing some serious fundraising so we can send them somewhere fun (Disney?) on a senior class trip (right now the seniors don't even go anywhere ).

I might step up and be the class advisor for my daughter's class and send them on the same path...that's still awhile away so we'll see about that.

 

[momz]

In the past, I was on the American Red Cross disaster response team. My husband and I responded to local disasters, mostly fires. We met with the victims of the disaster, and made arrangements for a hotel and gift cards to be used to replace clothing and immediate necesities.

You have to be available at a moment's notice. We took turns with others covering time slots. Usually we covered a night shift 2-3 times a month, sometimes a full weekend.

The people that we responed to were so grateful. Usually they lost everything, even ID, so they would be in a state of shock with not knowing what to do now.

Just knowing they had a place to lay their head, clothes on their bodies and food in their bellies was enough of a relief to allow them to start focusing on the "what next" after the disaster.

 

[luvmick]

I have been volunteering at our local Animal Ophanage for the past few years. I work mainly in the at room,taking care of them and assisting adoptions(the best part!).I also go to the local pet store where we have some of our kitties up for adoption. I also foster,have two little sweeties now who will go up for adoption soon. I enjoy it and get so much back!.

 

[Lovin' Disney]

This is so nice reading stories that focus on the good that people can do.

 

[Jennasis]

I'm a volunteer coach with Special Olympics. LOVE my athletes!!!

 

[castmemberb4]

I have been volunteering at our local Animal Ophanage for the past few years. I work mainly in the at room,taking care of them and assisting adoptions(the best part!).I also go to the local pet store where we have some of our kitties up for adoption. I also foster,have two little sweeties now who will go up for adoption soon. I enjoy it and get so much back!.

Me too! We became a foster family for kittens after losing our 9 month old kitty to sudden death. We still had his brother and fostered 20 kittens in 10 months. Now we have 4 cats and after going through a brutal respritory infection in all of our cats brought on by 2 adorable fosters, we stopped fostering. Since then I went through a health crisis and am in new treatment I feel great again and just started volunteering in the cat room at the same rescue that all of our babies came from!
OP - It's my first volunteer job and I`m about to turn 50, I LOVE it and don't think you need to have lifelong experience. Just do something that makes you happy.

 

[Aliceacc]

During the years I was home with my kids, I volunteered with the adoption agency that brought us our son.

I would get security clearance at JFK. Then I would meet a flight that had an infant Korean adoptee on it, and locate the baby and his escort. I would take the baby, and bring him through Customs and Immigration to meet his new family outside the gate.

I seldom left dryeyed, and frequently we had lots of tears from strangers in the terminal.

It was a wonderful way to "give back."

Now, with 3 kids and a full time teaching job, my volunteer work is a little more predictable in terms of hours. I teach religious ed, and am working in our Parish Fair in a few weeks.